The Kolkata Municipal Corporation along with city police today carried out a drive to clear stretches of pavements and spaces under flyovers by removing and rehabilitating vagabonds and footpath dwellers living at major thoroughfares.

The civic body yesterday wrote a letter to the city police intimating about the drive requesting the police commissioner to intimate the local police stations and provide assistance of lady police officials that would be needed during the eviction and rehabilitation process. The drive was conducted at major thoroughfares in boroughs VII, VIII and IX. Stretches beneath the flyover in Mullick Bazar and Seven Point to Beckbagan, Ballygunge Phari to Gariahat and Hazra Road to Gopalnagar were cleared of street dwellers and vagabonds by KMC and police officials. According to the member mayor-in-council for the social welfare wing of the KMC, Mitali Banerjee, the drive was conducted following instructions from the chief minister. “Earlier, our chief minister has spotted these people who live in tough conditions in the heat and rain. The CM had instructed for their rehabilitation to provide them with a more comfortable living. Considering the fact, footpath dwellers and vagabonds were rehabilitated to shelter homes run by the KMC,” informed the MMiC.

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The drive, however, turned out to be a tough ask for the civic body and city police officials, who faced stiff resistance from the street dwellers at several points particularly in MulliCk Bazaar and Gariahat. According to official sources, several footpath dwellers not only resisted but were also unwilling to shift to the shelter homes run by the KMC. Many of them, on being removed, went away and preferred to live on their own than to shift to the shelter for urban homeless. The civic body has also roped in some NGOs that provide food to the people at these shelter homes.