CALCUTTA WALKS ON THE EDGE The narrow channel is all that hawkers have left to pedestrians on a Brabourne Road pavement. Many pavements have been left with space for only one pedestrian to pass between rows of hawkers on either side. According to a conservative estimate, there are currently about 3.5 lakh hawkers in the city, almost treble of the 1996 count of 1.2 lakh. A new entrant has to first bribe the local political leader to be able to do business on a pavement, provided there is some space left. Any new entrant needs to pay around Rs 1.2 lakh to get space on a Brabourne Road pavement and Rs 1 lakh in Gariahat, sources said.

Source: The Telegraph January 31, 2017 22:18 UTC