Kolkata, June 28: The railway authorities have conducted a significant eviction operation at the Park Circus station area in Kolkata, clearing illegal shops from land owned by the Indian Railways.

Earlier this month, the authorities issued notifications to the proprietors of these shops and local vendors, instructing them to vacate their shops from the station premises and the surrounding lands in the Sealdah South Section of Eastern Railway. However, due to their noncompliance, a bulldozer was deployed on Saturday night to demolish these shops.

A large number of police, Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed for this drive.

After the change of government in the state, the Railways have been conducting drives to evict encroachments in the station areas. Similar drives were held at several stations, including Howrah, Sealdah, Dum Dum, Jadavpur and Habra. This time, the drive was also launched at Park Circus station in Kolkata.

Late Saturday night, the Park Circus station premises were surrounded by railway police and the RAF. Security was tightened to prevent any unrest. First, the Railways used loudspeakers to announce instructions to vacate the station area and railway land. Some time was given to the traders to remove their belongings. However, none of the traders in the station area moved their goods. After that, a bulldozer was brought in, and the illegal shops were demolished one by one.

The Park Circus station area has always been congested. It is alleged that a large number of illegal shops had mushroomed at the station premises over the years. The Railways have never been able to evict illegal hawkers at that station, which is located in a minority community-dominated area. There were allegations that railway passengers used to face harassment and crimes at various times while travelling to that station.

After the BJP government came to power in the state, it was decided that illegal hawkers would be evicted from the station premises. The eviction drive lasted for about two and a half hours.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has also taken steps to remove illegal encroachments and shops under several flyovers across the city.

It was learnt that the KMC has issued notices to illegal hawkers to remove their shops from under the Sealdah flyover in North Kolkata and Sukanta Setu in the southern outskirts of the city. Those who have illegally encroached on spaces under these two bridges have been asked to move out within the next seven days. The KMC will take action in accordance with the provisions of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, as mentioned in the notice.

London/New Delhi, June 28: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, in his meeting with the diaspora here, highlighted the opportunities emerging from the India-UK CETA, effective from July 15, which will further deepen collaboration across trade, investment, and innovation, contributing to shared prosperity for both nations.

The minister had an engaging evening interacting with the Indian diaspora and business community in London.

“Spoke about the vital role of the diaspora as a living bridge between India and the United Kingdom, strengthening economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties,” Goyal posted on X.

Goyal also interacted with members of the ICAI UK Chapter and emphasised the vital role of the CA community in strengthening the economic ties between India and the UK.

“Also, highlighted how the India-UK CETA will create new avenues for professionals. Urged them to leverage their skills, knowledge and professional expertise to maximise the opportunities arising from the agreement and contribute to the shared growth of both nations,” said the minister.

He also had an insightful discussion with Professor Siddartha Khastgir, Head of Safe Autonomy at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick, on deepening industry-academia collaboration and advancing research-driven innovation.

“A vibrant innovation ecosystem is instrumental in nurturing breakthrough ideas, building globally competitive industries, and shaping the technologies of the future for India and the world,” said Goyal.

In a productive meeting with Dr Vishwajeet Rana, Group CEO of GEDU Global Education, Goyal discussed avenues to further strengthen India-UK collaboration in higher education, skills and innovation.

“Also, exchanged views on leveraging the India-UK CETA to foster stronger industry-academia partnerships and create new opportunities for shared growth between both countries,” he added.

Earlier, Goyal urged Indian companies to deepen engagement with their UK counterparts and translate opportunities under the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) into sustained business growth.

Addressing the ‘India-UK: Partners in Progress Business Plenary’ in London, Goyal said the landmark trade pact offers significant opportunities to strengthen bilateral trade, investment, technology partnerships, innovation and resilient supply chains.

New Delhi, June 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on Sunday that during the global energy crisis, the support people showed for his appeal to conserve fuel, avoid unnecessary foreign travel, and decrease gold purchases demonstrates the strength of ‘janbhagidari’ (people’s participation) in India.

Speaking during the 135th episode of his monthly radio programme, ‘Mann Ki Baat’, PM Modi said, “When a nation’s soul resides in its people and when the people of that country make a resolve, no power can deter them from their goals. The power of ‘janbhagidari’ in the nation-building is a tremendous asset for India. We experience this janbhagidari time and time again.”

“In view of the war-like situation in West Asia, I had made a few appeals to my countrymen. I had urged them to avoid buying gold for some time. I had urged people to avoid foreign travel for vacations. I had also appealed to them to encourage car-pooling. I had urged the farmers to adopt a chemical-free farming to protect their farms and ensure extensive use of organic fertilisers,” he added.

The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to every citizen of the country who not only supported his appeal, but also cooperated in every possible way.

“Through their messages, many families have shared their experiences. Many families decided not to buy gold for weddings in the family. And in case of need, they would make new jewellery through the recycling of old gold. Many people have even written on social media about how they have postponed their foreign travel this time,” he mentioned.

The Prime Minister said that people even shared numerous experiences of car pooling, while the farmers switched to organic farming.

“People who used to travel in their own vehicles in the same direction daily have now started going together. People are using buses and the metro as much as possible. This has helped to save petrol and diesel. Similarly, news of increased use of organic fertilisers is also coming from different parts of the country,” he further said.

“I am happy to see that we are dealing with this global crisis together. I am sure that this power of janbhagidari will make us stronger and will make us stronger,” PM Modi added.