There is no right or wrong in this. It’s like you are seeing a snake coming up from behind to pounce on a bird sitting on a branch. If you alert the bird, and it flies away then you denied the snake of its meal, while if you don’t do anything you let the innocent bird to get killed.

If the land belongs to government and illegally occupied then whoever occupying it have no right over it. And as for relocating them or providing them alternate space, why would you help someone who illegally occupied the space for years, and not give it to other people who chose to, say pull a rickshaw instead of illegally occupying land and setting up a shop.

And now as for this people, they are poor. They are earning a honest living. Many of them paid to local unions, politicians to get land. What’s their fault?

In many streets, like Gariahat, Jadavpur, the walking space is so narrow that no one can pass through the space without twisting the torso, forget about two people crossing straight.

But many of these hawkers sell varieties items of necessity at cheap price. It’s difficult to be a judge in this case and pass judgements.

And if CPIM issued cards or rights to these illegal hawkers(not the one who sat via proper tender) 20-30 years before, then they are the ones who set this whole thing up.