Street hawkers – luckier lot! [Picture source]
In a somewhat landmark judgment 2 days back, the Calcutta High Court has ruled that the railways must stop beggars and unlicensed hawkers from plying their trade in platforms and trains. This was in response to public interest litigation (PIL) by a daily train passenger who felt harassed by the fact that hawkers have rendered it nearly impossible to travel by local trains.
The judgment is seen as too harsh since over a lakh people earn their livelihood by hawking their wares at railway premises. A large number of them enjoy political patronage and in exchange for assured protection they give a part of their daily earning to political parties.
Therefore, by this judgment, the HC has put both the hawkers and their political patrons in trouble. Expectedly, both are furious at the turn of events. Acting against their ire is well nigh impossible for the railways though it remains to be seen how the latter takes steps to give effect to HC ruling.
Big cities like Kolkata attract people from hinterland and adjacent states to eke out living and hawking is a good option for them. Since they nearly never pay for traveling in trains, thus whatever little money they go back with earning each day is just about sufficient to meet the needs of their families.
In this article the author quotes a study according to which the total turnovers of street hawkers in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata respectively are Rs.12,000 crore, Rs.10,000 crore and Rs.8772 crore.
Though the Kolkata figure inspires awe, it will not be unwise to conclude that bulk of this money are earned by those street hawkers who are fortunate to locate their trade in prime locations such as Burrabazar, Gariahat, Hatibagan, etc.
In fact there are quite a few stories of street hawkers making it so big that they are able to afford luxuries that are beyond reach of many middle-class people.
Compared to Kolkata’s effluent street hawkers, mobile train hawkers are a poorer lot and their average per-person earning is at best meager. When I traveled frequently in Sealdah section couple of years back, I’d the opportunity to know their tribe quite closely. And I know how difficult it is for most of them to make both ends meet.
Yet the fact is hawkers do make conditions difficult to use platforms and travel in local trains. But unless the hinterland economy improves so that people do not feel the need to undergo immense hardship to come to the city hawking, this problem is not going to go. The moot point is how to improve overall economy and create sufficient jobs at all levels.
That doesn’t mean the HC’s ruling is wrong, as many politicians would have us believe. In the eyes of judiciary, every person in India has equal rights as spelled out in the Constitution. Therefore the ruling to mitigate the harassment caused to a train passenger is perfectly in order.
Only, we are once again reminded that for everyone’s rights to have equal value, the country and indeed the state of West Bengal have to prosper economically. Any doubt there?
Meanwhile, here is a nice account of a train passenger’s encounter with a fruit vendor in Chennai-Mumbai Mail.
Technorati Tags: hawker, vendor, sealdah, howrah, kolkata, calcutta
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