Red Fort, Chandni Chowk is now free of hawkers; cops remove 700 vendors

The choked footpaths of Red Fort and Chandni Chowk got a breather on Wednesday and Thursday with the police removing illegal hawkers from the area.

The choked footpaths of Red Fort and Chandni Chowk got a breather on Wednesday and Thursday with the police removing illegal hawkers from the area.

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Usually crammed for pedestrians, the footpaths remained free and according to traders in the area, the police have assured that no hawkers will be allowed to squat in the future.

The police were acting under the orders of the Supreme Court that had declared the area hawker free. Approximately 500-700 hawkers were removed in the drive. The affected included street-food, shoes and clothes' vendors who had been working in the area for years.

The traders of Chandni Chowk, however, say that the orders got implemented only after they met the commissioner of police and asked him for help.

“Even though the area had been declared a hawker-free zone years ago, the police had taken no action against the illegal hawkers. We met the commissioner recently and discussed the issue with him. He took notice of the situation and ordered the drive,” said Sanjay Bhargava, general secretary, Chandni Chowk traders' association.

Bogged by police apathy, the traders had in February taken out drives to free the area of hawkers but to little effect.

“There was no help from the local police and so the hawkers would come back the next day,” said Bhargava. In the drives, the traders would remove 10-15 hawkers daily from the footpaths .

With the current drive removing most of the hawkers, the traders say that it will be easier for the people to travel in the area.