Footpaths are meant to be used as the primary walkway for city people. But nowadays, footpaths in big cities are often occupied with hawkers and vendors. As this is a very concerning issue, it can be a potential topic for your next English comprehension test.
In this session, you are going to learn how to write editorial letters about the problems caused by the hawkers on the footpaths.
Example 1
Question: While going to school, you face severe problems due to hawkers’ encroachment of the footpaths. Write a letter to the editor of any daily newspaper explaining your issue and look for solutions.
Hints: Street are busy- Footpaths are necessary- Encroached by hawkers- No space left- Dirty roadside area- Chances of accident increased- Request to the government
Suresh Mukherjee Road, Nabinpally
Kolkata: 700114
September 2, 2020
The Editor
The Statesman
3/1 Nalinipukur Road
Kolkata: 700002
Subject: Facing problems while going to school due to hawkers’ encroachment of footpaths
Sir,
Through the column of your esteemed daily, I want to draw the attention of the higher authority to the severe issue we are recently facing due to illegal encroachment of footpaths by hawkers.
In our city, rodes are always busy with cars, trucks and buses. That’s why footpaths are quite necessary to walk safely even while in hurry. I am a student of Nabinpally high school, every day used to go to my school walking using the footpath. But in the last few months, numerous hawkers have occupied most of the areas of the footpath and there is hardly any space left for people to walk. Not only it leads us to walk using the busy street but the streetside area also stays very dirty. One of my friends even had to face a little accident last day.
So in this context, I would like to request the government to take some firm action against those illegal encroachers and please ensure our safety.
Yours Sincerely,
Rajesh Dutta
Example 2
Question: Illegal encroachments of footpaths create trouble for the people in their daily life. Write a letter to the editor of any popular daily newspaper expressing your concern regarding this issue and suggest some possible measures.
Hints: Roads are crowded- Footpaths are primary walkway- Encroachment of hawkers- People use streets- Accidents increased- poor administrative regulation, corruption and unemployment are the reasons- Hawkers’ rehabilitation
2/61 Bablapur
North 24 Parganas
June 23, 2021
The Editor
The Telegraph
Kolkata: 700001
Subject: Encroachment of footpaths by hawkers creates trouble and must be resolved
Sir,
This letter to your esteemed daily is intended to express my concern over the issue of hawkers’ encroachment of footpaths and suggest some possible measures to solve this issue.
Footpaths are meant to be the primary walkway for the citizens. As roads tend to be crowded in the cities and walking through them is quite risky, footpaths are built. But nowadays, in almost every city of our country footpaths’ encroachment by street hawkers has become a serious issue. No matter how narrow the footpath is, most of the time hawkers put their stalls and block the walkway. Because of it, people have to use the streets for walking. As a result, the number of accidents is increasing day by day.
In my opinion, the reasons behind this phenomenon are poor administrative regulation, corruption and unemployment. Addressing only the first two can help a lot to resolve this problem. Apart from that, the government should also think something about the hawkers’ rehabilitation in some organised marketplace as well.
Yours Sincerely,
Rumi Bannerjee
Example 3
Question: Footpaths’ encroachments by hawkers have become a very common but serious issue for the people of Kolkata. Write a letter to the editor of a reputed newspaper expressing your concern over this problem along with effective examples and suggest some possible solution.
Hints: Old city- Huge population- Footpaths are necessary- Occupied by hawkers- Central Avenue, APC Sarani etc. are examples- Footpaths are completely blocked in North Kolkata- Kolkata Municipal Corporation must come forward
72A Bottola Road, Uttarpara
Hooghly
February 18, 2021
The Editor
The Times of India
8, Camac Street
Kolkata: 700017
Subject: Footpaths of Kolkata are no anymore available for citizens to walk
Sir,
I am writing this letter today to your esteemed daily, to express my concern over the poor condition of the footpaths in the city of joy, Kolkata.
Kolkata is quite an old city and many people from many corners of the country have come over here to find their livelihood. As a result, the current population of Kolkata is around 1.5 crores and a well-designed street management system is a must-have to maintain a quality metro city like lifestyle. But unfortunately, footpaths beside the major streets of Kolkata is currently occupied with hawkers. Footpaths around the roads like APC Sarani, Central Avenue, Esplanade and others are completely encroached by hawkers. There’s hardly any area left in the north and central Kolkata where footpaths are all clear to walk.
So, I would like to earnest request the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to take immediate steps to make the footpaths clear. Otherwise the city’s beauty as well the hygiene will no longer sustain in future.
Yours Sincerely,
Aditya Bansal
Example 4
Question: The state government has recently decided to take strict actions against all types of footpath encroachment in the city. Write a letter to the editor of a national daily newspaper expressing your view regarding this decision. Use the following hints for reference
Hints: footpath encroachment affecting city life- Government decided to deal strictly- footpaths will be cleared- Further encroachment to be penalised- Long pending demand- Your view- Non-arbitrary and transparent implementation must be ensured
21, Kathgola Road, Ghola
Kolkata: 700110
December 11, 2020
The Editor
The Indian Express
164/A, BK Paul Ave
Kolkata: 700005
Subject: Government’s decision against encroachment is harsh but effective
Sir,
I am writing this letter to your esteemed daily to express my view regarding the recent decision of the government to deal with the encroachment issue all around the state.
Recently our state is suffering from encroachment issues due to various reasons. Normal public life has been severely affected due to these encroachments. So, the government has finally decided to deal with these encroachment issues in a strict manner. Yesterday in a press conference, the mister of Urban and Housing Development, Mr Arup Roy revealed the government’s plan to deal with encroachment. Under this plan, footpaths will be cleared and further encroachment will be penalised. Moreover, a rehabilitation program will be launched for the people who live on the footpaths.
This was a long pending demand of the people of every major city in the state. Better late than never, the decision should be welcomed in order to create better city life. No doubt the plan is quite harsh be seems to have the potential to achieve the goal. Now the government must ensure the non-arbitrary and transparent implementation of this plan to create a better future for the state.
Yours Sincerely,
Barun Goswami
That was all about our presentation on writing letters to the editor of a newspaper about the problems caused by the hawkers on the footpath. In this session, I tried to write those letters from four different aspects.
Hopefully, after going through it, all doubts regarding the topic have been resolved. If you still have any doubts, put them in the comment section below. If you liked our initiative and want to read more such sessions, take a tour of our website.
Thank you, see you again, soon.