BJP-led West Bengal government demolishes stalls at Howrah and Sealdah stations

The new Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in West Bengal has launched a series of large-scale anti-encroachment drives across Kolkata, beginning with operations at major railway stations and a key industrial area. Bulldozers demolished hundreds of makeshift shops and structures deemed illegal in operations over the weekend, marking a significant escalation in efforts to clear public spaces.

A major operation took place late Saturday night and into Sunday morning outside Howrah railway station, one of the country's busiest transit hubs. Bulldozers, under heavy police and security force protection, cleared rows of temporary stalls and structures along the stretch from the Ganga ghat to the station premises. Officials said the joint operation by railway authorities and local police removed approximately 150 stalls and affected around 200 hawkers to reclaim railway land and improve pedestrian movement. A similar drive cleared hawkers from platforms at Sealdah station, with an estimated 250 vendors affected.

These actions follow a demolition drive on May 12 in Kolkata's Topsia-Tiljala area, a leather goods manufacturing hub. That operation, ordered by Chief Minister Suvendu...