The mayor of Kolkata claimed on January 20 that ragpickers were quickly taking over the city’s pavements. He urged police to identify these individuals and transfer them to homeless shelters.
Mayor Firhad Hakim promised to write the Kolkata police commissioner about the matter. He claimed that unidentified residents of the city run the possibility of becoming law and order problems at any time, as well as making the city look unsightly with their collection of bottles and bags.
According to Hakim, the police should also see if somebody who is not an Indian is residing on a pavement.
Then Hakim listed a few locations where he said the number of ragpickers is rapidly rising. These are near the gurdwara in Kalighat, on Southern Avenue, beside Modern High.
There are eight homeless shelters in Kolkata, according to a KMC official, and they can hold more than 5,000 people. According to a representative of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, at least four additional shelters are being built (KMC).
The official stated that the persons who must be moved to the shelters are identified by the police and elected officials.
Small groups of families can be seen residing on the pavement all across Kolkata. They cover the area where they dwell with plastic sheets, flex, and other materials. Cooking fuel is wood that has been collected from various locations.
Many of these folks reside close to the Gariahat police station, underneath the Gariahat flyover.
According to a KMC official, they discovered that some of these persons own some real estate in villages. They relocated to Kolkata in quest of employment, but they were unsuccessful.
News Mania Desk
