Sheer Madness! Evictions and Raids by MCC is JUST a JOKE?
Mangaluru: Have the officials at Magaluru City Corporation (MCC) done any project complete and right at the first time, like construction of new roads or footpaths, repairs of manholes or drainage, garbage handling, rules and regulations etc-here is yet another project which the MCC recently launched providing a hawking spots for nearly 200 plus street vendors who have been creating nuisance and hassles for commuters near State Bank of India area. But sadly even after the new one-acre hawking place behind Town hall-Mangaluru was inaugurated a month ago, as of now no street vendors who have been given ID cards to sell their products at this new hawking place have occupied it.
Even though this present hawking place for street vendors, which was earlier used by Yakshagana artists to stage their performances during the weekends, has now proved to be a waste of space and money, since the street vendors have decided to stick to footpaths to sell their fruits and vegetables. It is noted that there are around 750-800 street vendors in this area, of which 208 have received ID cards, and while 350 still are on waiting list. It is also learnt that 700 street vendors have registered with various Associations, with 758 applications filed. Nearly 40% of the street vendors are locals, while 60% are outsiders.
A couple of days ago, MCC evicted all the street vendors near State Bank of India area, but this eviction was just for a day, because of today, all these evicted street vendors are at their original footpath spots carrying on with their trade. So what good is it to evict someone just for a day, and allow them back the next day. Sheer madness, and kind of a joke what MCC does all the time. Are they doing it for political stunt or just to get publicity for the day in all media.
If you look at the new hawking place arranged by the MCC for the street vendors at the cost of few lakhs of rupees of tax payers money, there are hardly any street vendors instead a few beggars have been occupying the spots by beggars and homeless. What a sheer waste of tax payers money gone down the drain? Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Marybai a street vendor selling vegetables on the State Bank Road stretch said, ” We were made to move to the new location, and we did. But unfortunately, we had come back to our original footpath spot since no customers showed up at the new place. How can we make a living if there are no customers MCC should come up with a different plan to attract customers at this new location, and only then we will move there”.
Why are the Street Vendors still here on the Footpath……..
Meanwhile MCC Mayor Harinath has said, ” After much survey, we identified a proper hawking place for them and it was a big achievement. But now the street vendors are making a fuss to relocate. We will soon address some other demands of these vendors soon, but as of now, they should move from the footpaths to this new location. The association leaders should convince other street vendors not to encroach footpaths. The MCC will pitch its support by keeping the hawking zone clean. City should be friendly to people from all walks of life”.
……When they were suppose to be here at this New Hawking Space?
Presently there are certain problems on street vendors side like- they encroach footpaths, they do not pay tax to MCC, they don’t keep their areas clean after they sell vegetables and fruits, there is traffic congestion due to crowd around the street vendors, it is also learnt that several vendors are known to be involved in crimes like molestation and harassment to pedestrians etc-so then why is MCC still not rectifying these problems. How long is MCC going to put up with the crap with these street vendors? Why can’t MCC take strict action and force them to follow the rules and regulations and also make them occupy the new hawking without any further delay.
According to CITU leader, Sunil Kumar Bajal, where he had said, ” Allotment of land for street vendors is really a welcome step. But food stalls should not be located at the same place where vendors sell vegetables and fruits. The present zone has enough space for vegetable and fruit vendors. MCC should come up with a better idea to solve this issue”. Hanumanth Kamath, a Town Vending Committee member had said, ” The place for street vendors was identified after many surveys. Now it’s the duty of these vendors to utilize them in a proper manner and not abuse it. They should convince all members to shift to the new zone. Coordination between officials and street vendors is the need of the hour”.
Shifting gears, the raids conducted by the MCC officials on businesses for not paying their dues or doing some surprise raids on couple of construction sites for stagnant water giving scope for Malaria breeding leading to diseases like Malaria/Dengue seems like a joke, because just one raid on a day picked by these MCC officials will not serve the purpose, rather than get only a wide publicity in media. There are many more construction sites which pose a danger of Malaria/Dengue- and there are are much more businesses in the City who have long years of pending licence dues. Then why only sleuth into a few places and slap fines on them on just one day, instead of carrying the raids on a daily basis till all the dues are collected from the defaulters and rectify safety issues at various other construction spots, and not just two construction sites as done couple of days ago? Publicity stunt, I suppose!
In conclusion, regarding the street vendors, sources from MCC reveal that, Since the new street vending zone is spacious, the street vendors should occupy the zone without any hassles; Associations of street vendors should cooperate with authorities and not allow others to misuse the place; Street vendors should know that the space provided for them now used to a reserved space for Yakshagana; Pending applications for ID cards will be cleared if the 208 ID card holders shift to the new vending zone. But until then, we all have to keep our fingers crossed as to who will win the battle- The MCC or the Street Vendors?
Also Read Related Articles Below:
MCC provides a Hawking Place for Street Vendors
Mayor Harinath Inaugurates Street Vendors Yard near Town Tall
