Mamata Banerjee Leads Massive Hawkers' Protest at Dharmatala, Targets Eviction Drive

Thousands of hawkers, party workers and followers marched to the Esplanade (Dharmatala) in Kolkata, led by former Chief Minister of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee who led a massive protest meeting and sit-in. The protest was against the alleged eviction of the street vendors & demolition of stalls by the BJP-led Government of the State. Speaking at the event, Banerjee alleged that the government has been following a “bulldozer policy” which jeopardises the lives of thousands of poor families who rely on the informal sector.

The protest has a very political history. The TMC, which had suffered a historic defeat in the 2026 Assembly elections of West Bengal, has been trying to make a comeback to its old base. Hawkers and the small shop owners form an important part of Mamata Banerjee's clientele and she has always defended their right to a livelihood. The TMC says evictions are being conducted without adequate rehabilitation while there is legislation that protects the rights of street peddlers, Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. Banerjee further said that so far there have been thousands of hawkers and party workers affected or displaced by the recent action.

The official figure is almost 10 million street vendors, of which Kolkata is home to one of the biggest informal vending networks in the country. Street vending is an important source of low cost food and livelihoods for poor families in the urban areas. The Dharmatala protest was Mamata Banerjee's attempt to come across as the champion of the hawkers and the urban poor and at the same time resurrect the grassroots mobilisation of the party after its electoral defeat. The demonstration has now turned to an economic issue about livelihoods and it has gained political momentum as a campaign to win back the TMC's political base in West Bengal.