Mangaluru City Corporation re-launches drive evicting street vendors

The Mangaluru City Corporation re-launched a drive to evict street vendors obstructing pedestrian and traffic in the city on Monday.

The Mangaluru City Corporation re-launched a drive to evict street vendors obstructing pedestrian and traffic in the city on Monday.

A senior official of the Revenue Department at the civic body said that 21 illegal petty shops/structures/makeshift tents were removed in the drive conducted at Mannagudda, Lady Hill, Yeyyadi, Padavinangady, and Karnataka Polytechnic areas.

Most of them were selling unhealthy fast food to people, the official said, adding that the drive will continue in other areas.

The corporation took the help of the police while removing the structures. They took into custody the protesting street vendors, including the CPI (M) leader B.Y. Imtiyaz.

During the monthly phone-in programmes of Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur, people had been complaining about the menace of street vendors.

The Mayor said that the street vendors should use pushcarts and should not pitch tents or build permanent structures on side of the roads. But many have violated this and have occupied footpaths.

People had complained about the vendors using unhealthy water while serving food and blocking footpaths by putting up chairs.