BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 4th February 2026 : Former minister Manik Dey has sharply criticized the municipal corporation’s recent eviction drive, describing it as a “war against the poor” carried out without providing any alternative arrangements.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Dey alleged that the corporation used bulldozers to demolish shops of small traders without offering rehabilitation. “These small businesses are the only means of livelihood for poor and lower-income families. By destroying their shops, the corporation has snatched away their bread and butter,” he said.
He further termed the eviction “inhuman,” stressing that many of those affected are daily wage earners and petty traders who depend entirely on their stalls to sustain their families.
Dey also accused the civic body of conducting eviction drives against hawkers every few days, only for them to return to the pavements shortly afterward. “This cycle proves that the problem is not being solved permanently,” he remarked.
The former minister urged the corporation to adopt a humane approach by ensuring proper rehabilitation and alternative arrangements for hawkers and small traders before carrying out evictions. “Only then can this issue be resolved in a sustainable and compassionate manner,” he added.
