Street vendors cry foul about Corporation’s pavement eviction drive

The Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation’s drive against the illegal use of carriageways and pavements for trade appears to threaten the livelihood of scores of street vendors selling affordable fast food fare from sidewalks.

Scores of hawkers operating food carts in the city protested in front of the Corporation office on Tuesday under the aegis of the Trivandrum District Street Vendors Union (AITUC), demanding that the civic authorities restore their sole means of subsistence. 

The latest eviction drive had targeted street vendors along the arterial All Saints-Chakka stretch.

Michael Bastin, vice president of the Kerala State Street Vendors Union, affiliated to the AITUC, told The Hindu that the eviction drive was initially intended to remove food carts operated by big businesses from usurping pavement and road space.

“However, it seems to have lost direction and ended up targeting the working class seeking to eke out a living by selling street food to ordinary citizens who can ill-afford upscale hotel bills”, he said.

The protesters included Sobhana, who sells diced vegetables on the street, Sheeja, the owner of a tea shop, and Rajila, who operates a pani puri cart. They said a bulk of their business came from the evening crowd frequenting the Shanghumughom Beach and Veli tourist village. 

Recently, the Corporation authorities removed food carts that had set up shop along the Kowdiar-Vellayambalam-Vazhuthacaud-Cotton Hill School stretch. It had also cracked down on food carts operating on the Kesavadasapuram-Parottukonam road. 

According to Corporation officials, several hoteliers and big-time caterers had invested in food carts and sidewalk eateries, crowding out the original crowd of bona fide street vendors.

Moreover, they parked mobile catering units on the road, resulting in traffic snarls during evening hours and also jeopardising pedestrian safety by bringing them into inadvertent conflict with carriageway traffic. 

The Corporation had also raised doubts about the food safety standards of wayside eateries and taken strong exception to their littering the streets with food remains, dishwater, and discarded cups and paper plates.

An official said the Corporation would not leave the street vendors in the lurch. It has earmarked designated areas in the city with proper garbage and wastewater disposal facilities, as well as weekend tourist destinations, including beaches and tourist villages, to establish vending zones.