Mysuru: On the one hand, street vendors face harassment by Police and money lenders, on the other hand is the constant threat of eviction by Municipal authorities. There has been a constant demand to evict footpath vendors making a clear way for pedestrians. 

At the Council Meeting of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) held yesterday, Corporators demanded the immediate removal of all footpath vendors or provide space for vendors in front of the MCC office.

Raising the issue, Corporator K.V. Sridhar said that pedestrians cannot walk freely on the footpaths in the Central Business District (CBD). 

Street vendors occupy most of the space in almost all the streets in the CBD and despite the MCC forming many rules and regulations following Court orders, nothing has been done so far. On the one hand, shops have occupied almost half of the footpath, on the other hand, street vendors have occupied the other half. “How do we expect pedestrians to walk on the footpaths,” he asked. 

Joining the issue, former Mayor Ayub Khan said that there are thousands of street vendors occupying the streets and spoiling the beauty of heritage city. He accused officers of shielding the vendors in the name of constructing separate hawking zones. He said that several hawking zones have been constructed and they are lying vacant, thanks to the patronage extended by       MCC officers to hawkers. 

Corporator Ramesh said that many footpath vendors, who sell snacks and eatables by the side of the road, keep LPG cylinders on the road. He questioned that if at all the cylinders burst, who will be held responsible. Many crucial streets have been fully occupied by street vendors making movement difficult.