There are hundreds of such unauthorised shanties on the banks of the Kestopur and Bagjola canals and Bidhannagar Municipality and Hidco authorities will soon conduct an eviction drive to remove these encroachers to make way for water to flow from Chitpore lock gate. This water would be supplied to residents of New Town for drinking.

There is a growing resentment among these evicted shanty dwellers. "The government is evicting us, but where will we go?" asked one of them. Concerned over the demands of rehabilitation, NDITA authorities have started working on plans to relocate the evicted. "We have heard the demands of the evicted people and are working on plans to rehabilitate most of them," said NDITA chairman S A Ahmed.

NDITA officials said the recent eviction drive was necessary as the shanties and stalls were fast turning into shelters for criminals after dusk.

Like NDITA, Bidhannagar Municipality also carries shanty eviction drives at regular intervals, and is now planning to demolish illegal shanties on the canal banks. Hundreds of shanty dwellers recently staged an agitation in front of the municipality building, demanding rehabilitation.

NDITA authorities are planning to reserve some space for hawkers at the IT Township. Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) has selected a private firm Step-II Corporation Private Limited to set up a food court at Sector V on land taken from the urban development department. A memorandum of understanding would soon be signed between the firm and NDITA for executing the project. "We will try to ensure some space in the food court reserved for hawkers," said an official.