A deep sense of anxiety has engulfed College Street—Kolkata’s legendary Boi Para (Book Colony)—following reports that an anti-encroachment campaign could soon target the area’s famous roadside bookstalls. Over the weekend, several stall owners operating along Bankim Chatterjee Street, the historic alleyway running past the Indian Coffee House and opposite Presidency University, reported receiving verbal instructions to clear their structures. According to local vendors, individuals identifying themselves as municipal representatives warned them to remove display benches and heavy stacks of books that spill onto the pedestrian pathways. Hawkers were purportedly given a 15-day window to comply, sparking intense worry among a business community that has occupied these pavements for decades.
The wave of panic on College Street stems from a highly aggressive, state-wide anti-encroachment campaign that has gained momentum across West Bengal following the recent change of guard in the state government. Over the past few weeks, heavy machinery and bulldozers deployed by administrative and railway authorities have systematically dismantled unauthorized hawker stalls at high-traffic transit hubs, including Howrah Station and Dum Dum Station. Having witnessed these rapid, overnight clearances, generational booksellers fear a similar fate awaits the country’s largest literary market. Traders argue that their business relies inherently on physical display space, as readers need to browse open stacks to find what they want—an operational reality that makes a forced pushback devastating to their families’ livelihoods.
In response to the growing unrest, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has moved swiftly to downplay the threat of displacement. Municipal Commissioner Smita Pandey firmly denied issuing any eviction mandates or path-clearing directives for the College Street cluster. While the KMC confirmed receiving a flood of queries from panicked vendors, the department clarified that no such administrative order exists. Strikingly, officials warned that the sudden decrees circulating through the market might be unauthorized, AI-generated fabrications designed to stir panic, advising the public to verify the authenticity of any such notices with local police. Despite these administrative reassurances, the fear remains palpable among students and book lovers who view Boi Para as a cultural haven, leaving the future of the historic pavement market highly tense
