HYDERABAD: Governments have come and gone, but the State’s vendors never seem to have it easy. Always the ‘encroachers on public land’, they continue to be evicted out of wherever they set up stalls in, mostly by local bodies across the State.

In the latest such development, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has initiated the process to turn the 50-metres radius of the Charminar edifice into a hawker-free zone. As part of the initiative, the GHMC has started putting up ‘No Hawker Zone’ markings around the said radius.
For the next three to five days, the corporation authorities will create awareness among hawkers against selling goods within the said radius. After that, there would be a strict enforcement of the same with the cooperation of other government agencies.

GHMC Director (Planning) K Srinivas Rao told Express that the ‘No Hawker Zone’ markings were being painted on to the surface of the road in yellow since Thursday. The strict implementation will come into force from next week.

The decision was made because a large number of hawkers were apparently found to be entirely occupying the area. Even the railings of Charminar are not spared. The tourists who come in large numbers to see the iconic structure have no place to stand or take photographs with Charminar as the background, as the surroundings are packed with hawkers.               

Reportedly, it was the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) authorities who brought the issue to the notice of the local body and police authorities.

Apart from the no-hawker zone, the GHMC has also decided not to allow any vehicular movement up to about 100 metres away from Charminar. This is to prevent fuel-run vehicles from proceeding further from the Gulzar Houz, Sardar Mahal, Shali Banda and Laad Bazar sides. The GHMC will also fix hydraulic bollards of five-metre heights here, with up and down movements. “Works for the fixing of hydraulic bollards have started on the Gulzar House side,” he said.

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