PWD asks street vendors to move out from Shanmugham Road

Kochi: Public works department served move-out notices to the street vendors on Shanmugham Road. It is learnt that the notices were sent as part of an earlier plan.However, officials with PWD said the street vendors have replied that they are not ready to move out. "According to the vendors, the corporation allowed them to continue to operate from the same place. Now, we would seek a response from Kochi corporation. We will take our next steps based on the response," an official with PWD said. Mayor V K Minimol said the move by PWD may be part of earlier plans to relocate them to street vending zones. "We are yet to get communication from PWD," Minimol said. During the stint of the previous council, Kochi corporation had plans to relocate the vendors from Shanmugham Road. The corporation had identified street vending zones to relocate those running stalls in other places. According to the corporation authorities, the rehabilitation of street vendors will help streamline traffic and pedestrian movement. In 2020, an initial survey was conducted to identify the number of street vendors in the city. Temporary licences were granted based on the survey list. Under the leadership of Kudumbashree and Centre for Socio-Economic-Environmental Studies (CSES), re-surveys were conducted to identify as many eligible vendors as possible, and the corporation has approved 2,351 street vendors through various processes via the Town Vending Committee (TVC).