The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) continued its drive against footpath vendors in different parts of the city.
MCC officials, escorted by the police, evicted vendors on Vivekananda Road, Vivekananda Circle, Nanjumalige Circle, New Kantharaj Urs Road and other parts on Wednesday.
Mayor Pushpalatha Jagannath said the MCC drive follows a decision taken to create hawking and non-hawking zones. “We have noticed that the number of street vendors is increasing in various parts of the city and encroaching upon footpaths. We want to evict street vendors from core areas”, she said.
MCC Commissioner Jagadeesh said the authorities will be creating hawking and non-hawking zones soon and provide street vendors with certificates which will also identify their place of business.
However, Bhaskar Raje Urs, who represents the Karnataka State Street Vendors’ Federation, cried foul against the MCC’s ‘violent’ action of evicting the vendors from their place of business and destroying paraphernalia. “If you throw them out of business, how will they feed their families,” he questioned.
Citing the street vendors right to peacefully carry out their business under the provisions of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, Mr. Urs said the authorities have a right to issue a notice to the vendors if they are inconveniencing the public and take action only 30 days after identifying an alternative place for them. The matter should also be brought before the Town Vending Committee (TVC).
In the name of the Swacch Bharat scheme, the MCC authorities are indiscriminately evicting street vendors and throwing their families on to the streets, Mr. Urs alleged.