Bhubaneswar: Street vendors protest eviction

Bhubaneswar: Street vendors demonstrated on Thursday against “eviction” by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) as part of the beautification drive for the upcoming Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebration in the city.

Thousands of street vendors protested outside the BMC North Zone office at NALCO Square, blocking the main road that connects Jaydev Vihar to Nan-dankanan Zoo. They alleged that the BMC and Bhubaneswar Development Authority were evicting vendors on 12 different roads without any proper re-habilitation.

Odisha Roadside Vendors’ Association president Pratap Kumar Sahu said without any prior notice or rehabilitation, the authorities started evicting them in the name of beautification. The street vendors faced a similar situa-tion during the Men’s Hockey World Cup as well, he alleged.

“We demand immediate stoppage of the eviction drive and declaration of these areas as vending zones. New shops should be allotted to the street ven-dors,” Sahu said. If the government does not accept the demands, the protest would be intensified and all three zonal offices of BMC would be gheraoed, he said. The demonstration outside the BMC office was withdrawn after officers intervened.

A BMC official said, “We are not evicting any street vendors. We want to re-locate them in view of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas function. We will provide wa-ter and electricity to their shops. However, they are reluctant to relocate.” The 18th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is scheduled to be held here at Janata Maidan from January 8 to 10.