Sealdah traders jittery after CM’s shift-out move

KOLKATA: Amit Prasad sells lottery tickets below the Sealdah flyover. He is among the thousand-odd shop owners at Sisir Market under the bridge who has a trade licence and pays rent to KMC. Ever since the Majerhat flyover crash, the Arati Lottery Agency owner has been worried and chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s announcement to shift people out of the market below this flyover has added to his anxiety.

From kaju lassi to Kashmiri plum, from wedding trousseau to fast food, Sisir Market is a one-stop mart for all those heading to and from the Sealdah station. Ramkrishna Dutta of Pen House and Biswajit Sen of Modern Saloon don’t want to lose their loyal customers. According to Sen, they were caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. “I hear rats have damaged some pillars. With bridges collapsing in Kolkata, it feels unsafe below this flyover. But shifting elsewhere after 20 years and starting afresh is equally scary,” he said. Even encroaching hawkers are worried. “We don’t pay rent but contribute during Durga Pujas and relief work. We want rehabilitation if we are shifted out,” said Gopal Pal, a vendor.

Banerjee’s announcement has come as a bolt from the blue for all officer-bearers of the Sealdah Flyover Merchants’ Association. Its president Swapan Kumar Nandi and vice-president Jiban Krishna Saha can’t fathom the reason behind the rehabilitation talk. They are even more apprehensive, given the delay in rehabilitation of traders at Barnaparichay market. “There must be proof that we didn’t cooperate during the repairs. Did the market supervisor present any such report? We need to know why we have to shift,” Saha said.

The traders insisted the flyover condition was not as bad as it was being made out to be. The ceiling of each shop was at a gap of four to five inch from the bridge floor. “This bridge was made out of slabs. But a gap is maintained from the slabs to ensure less vibration. This market has five blocks. In the fifth block, there was some water leakage during repairs. We had reported it to HRBC and ward 49 councillor Aparajita Dasgupta,” one of them said.

General secretary Biswajit Chowdhury, who has an imitation jewellery shop, wants the government to take a sympathetic view: “We don’t have huge savings, we can’t shut shops. If we are asked to shift to Beleghata, it will mean the end for some 20,000 people here.” But the traders aren’t pressing the panic button yet. “We are ready to shut some shops for repair. They can be accommodated elsewhere. We are always with the chief minister and KMC. She is against eviction,” Choudhury said.