Daryaganj [now wears a deserted look].

Gone was the hustle and bustle on the pavements, the yellowed texts stacked against walls, books piled up helter-skelter, hawkers shouting and book lovers, young and old, jostling through the crowds.

And the change has come to stay.

The 45-year-old book market is facing the brunt of a police drive to curb traffic congestion, pick-pocketing and eve-teasing in the area.

The market, covering a one-kilometre stretch, never had the official permission to run. But nonetheless, the hawkers had been allowed to sit there every Sunday.