The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) officials should enumerate and rehabilitate the vendors before evicting them from the present location, said Visakhapatnam (South) MLA Vasupalli Ganesh.
Addressing the media on the sudden eviction of about 16 vendors in the Old Town area, here on Monday, he said that these vendors had been earning their livelihood by setting up makeshift stalls at that location for the past three to four decades.
“Forcibly evicting them in the early hours without even giving a notice was inhuman and undemocratic,” he said.
He blamed GVMC Commissioner G. Srijana for taking such a drastic step and putting the vendors and the family members on to the road, without any livelihood.
According to Mr. Ganesh, the GVMC officials brought heavy machinery and pulled down shops without even giving a notice or time period to remove the shops.
Most of the shops are makeshift arrangements and can be dismantled and moved to another place. “But instead of that, the GVMC officials destroyed the shops by pulling them apart. We demand that they be compensated for the loss,” he said.
Moreover, according to the Constitution and the Supreme Court judgement, everyone is entitled to earn their livelihood and if they are to be evicted for some reason, the authorities concerned should first do an enumeration and then provide an alternative living, as per their trade and profession, said Mr. Ganesh.
On the accusation that the vendors were indulging in illegal activities, the MLA said, “If that was so, what were the police doing? The shops are located barely 400 metres from the One Town Police Station. If some irregularities are found, take action and punish them, but depriving them of their livelihood cannot be a solution.”
Mr. Ganesh also said that he had brought the issue to the notice of the GVMC Commissioner, but so far nothing has been done.
