Bhubaneswar: A large number of street vendors on Friday staged protests against an eviction drive to beautify Odisha's state capital Bhubaneswar ahead of the men's Hockey World Cup next month, prompting authorities to postpone the exercise. Officials of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) also assured the protesters that the next course of action will be decided following a discussion with the vendors' representative body.
We have decided to stop the eviction drive for some days. It will be carried out after talks with the vendors' association, BMC North Zone assistant commissioner Suresh Chandra Lenka told reporters. The agitators, under the banner of All Odisha Roadside Vendors' Association, alleged that BMC conducted massive eviction without any prior notice or arrangement for rehabilitation.
The livelihoods of hundreds of vendors have been affected due to the eviction drive. Goods worth lakhs of rupees were destroyed as the BMC bulldozed our makeshift shops, association president Pratap Sahu said. Over 10,000 traders participated in the protest march to the BMC office, Sahu claimed. The agitators gheraoed the BMC office, leading to a minor scuffle with security personnel, officials said.
Sahu said the affected vendors must be rehabilitated as per law before being evicted. The BMC has violated all laws and illegally demolished the shops in Damana and Patia areas in the city, he alleged. There was no planning by the BMC for the world cup... It should have given sufficient time for the traders to move to a different place, said Minati Behera, whose small shop near Patia Chak was evicted.
She also claimed that the government was forcing vendors to migrate to other states. Sahu said there are around 30,000 road-side vendors in Bhubaneswar, out of whom 15,000 traders' stalls have been demolished by the BMC. Lenka later said the association has submitted a seven-point charter of demands, which will be placed before the BMC commissioner.
Steps will be taken for their rehabilitation, as per the policy of the government, he said. According to Sahu, the BMC has agreed to fulfill three of their demands. Immediate halt of the eviction drive was our main demand. BMC has also assured us of rehabilitating the affected vendors under the MUKTA (Mukhyamantri Karma Tatapara Abhiyan) scheme. We have given them an ultimatum of seven days. If our demands aren't met, the agitation will resume, he said. Odisha will host the men's Hockey World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-29. (PTI)
