Kannur Corpn. to press ahead with beach street vending plan

The Kannur Corporation will go ahead with its plan to remove street vending stalls from Payyambalam Beach after the monsoon, citing public health concerns amid the spread of communicable diseases. The Corporation will rehabilitate genuine street vendors and will issue them licences, Mayor P. Indira has said. Speaking to The Hindu, the Mayor said the unhygienic conditions at roadside food stalls had become a major concern, particularly during the rainy season, when maintaining food hygiene is difficult.

She said the Corporation would hold a meeting with UDF representatives before implementing the decision. As a first step, closed and abandoned stalls at the beach will be removed from Friday.

The Mayor said all roadside stalls would eventually be shifted after the monsoon. Vendors identified as genuine street hawkers would be rehabilitated within the beach premises. The Corporation has already prepared a preliminary list of eligible vendors and plans to issue them licences. She estimated that the number of genuine vendors is fewer than 30.

Alleging widespread irregularities in the existing street vending system, the Mayor said many operators were paying between ₹600 and ₹800 a day to individuals who had allegedly encroached on public land and were illegally subletting spaces. She claimed the system had largely become a benami operation, with only a small number depending on street vending as their primary source of livelihood.

According to the Mayor, the Corporation would extend all legal benefits and support to genuine vendors who rely on street vending for their livelihood. She said the rehabilitation plan envisages a uniform and organised vending area within Payyambalam Beach. However, the relocation will be carried out only after the monsoon, as maintaining hygienic food preparation and sales would not be feasible during the rainy season, even for responsible vendors.

The Mayor said the Corporation is also pursuing a proposal announced in the previous Budget to introduce mini air-conditioned buses connecting major tourist destinations within the Corporation limits.

“The proposed service is intended to reduce the number of private vehicles entering the city and improve connectivity between tourist attractions, including Payyambalam Beach, the Fort area, Ezhara Beach and temple tourism circuits. As the roads leading to Payyambalam are narrow, only minibuses are considered suitable,” she said.

She said preliminary discussions had been held with the Regional Transport Office and that the proposal would be pursued more actively after the monsoon. The Corporation is currently conducting a feasibility study to determine the operational model before preparing the project. “Although Budget provisions have already been made, the project has not yet reached the implementation stage,” she said.

The Mayor said the Corporation aims to implement the service after the monsoon, with an emphasis on employing women as bus staff.