Hawkers agree to shift to bylanes

Tirupati: Pushcart hawkers have at last agreed to the Corporation authorities directing them to shift to the bylanes away from the main areas so as to not cause any hindrance to public and vehicular movement.

Civic body authorities last month removed the pushcart hawkers in the six areas identified as most congested places in the city including railway station, RTC bus station, Srinivasam, Vishnu Nivasam, Government Maternity Hospital and SVRR Hospital leading to protests from the hawkers.

The hawkers demanding the authorities to allow them to do their businesses in the same main areas from where they were vacated and took up various protests including besieging the Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) and TUDA offices and dharnas but the authorities refused to budge leading to hawkers launching a relay fast.

The Corporation authorities moved ahead with their plan of accommodating the hawkers in the areas away from the main roads and allotted spaces even as the hawkers’ protests continuing and ignoring pressure from political leaders more so ruling and Left parties.

Despite the mounting pressure from people representatives including local MLA, MP, TUDA Chairman and Left parties, the Corporation’s Health
department few days back allocated the spaces for 100 hawkers, as part of the plan to get rid of them from the six identified main areas.

This includes forty hawkers in shift system at Arakkonam Bus Stand opposite to Srinivasam Pilgrim Complex i.e. 20 in the morning and 20 in the evening. Similarly, 12 in Konetikatta (near Vishnu Nivasam) away from the busy railway station road, 28 near SVRR Hospital, 12 near Alipiri and 8 at the Municipal Shopping Complex near SVIMS Circle.

However, the Hawkers Association leaders first refused to the proposal put forth by the Corporation authorities and wanted to resume their business in the main areas but ultimately agreed after dilly-dallying for few days bringing an end to the agitation going on for the last two weeks.

Civic officials along with CPM leaders offered lemon juice to the fasting hawkers formally ending their protest campaign at Corporation office here last evening. CPM city secretary Subramanyam, who is also Hawkers Association Honorary president, said that though the proposal was not fully acceptable to them, it was accepted keeping in the interests of hawkers, who have no business since three weeks and also the public at large.

However, many social activists including P Raja Reddy, K Kesavulu Chetty and others lauded the Corporation brave attempt to rein in the
hawkers and wanted similar step to regulate them in many other areas in the city including Annarao Circle, Market area, Krishnapuram Tana, RC Road etc. where the hawkers occupied the pavements and roads.