By Hareesh P

Copyright thehindu

Accusing the Andhra Pradesh government of resorting to vindictive action against the street vendors under the garb of ‘Operation Lungs’ in the city, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) district president K.K. Raju has said that the anti-encroachment drive undertaken by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has pushed thousands of poor vendors to the edge.

“Vendors were evicted without being served notice. Their shops were pulled down,” he alleged while addressing the media on Tuesday, after participating in a rally undertaken against the drive.

Leading a rally of vendors and YSRCP activists that covered the stretch from the Mahatma Gandhi statue to the GVMC office, Mr. Raju, party Assembly coordinators Molli Apparao and M. Vijayaprasad submitted a memorandum to the GVMC officials even as police tried to stop them.

Addressing the media later, Mr. Raju decried the demolition of pushcarts and stalls ‘without prior notice’.

Claiming that the demolished shops were not illegal, Mr. Raju said the GVMC earlier encouraged the vendors through trade licences, electric meters, and designated hawker zones. “The same shops are being demolished now. This is nothing but a political vendetta,” he said.

He demanded that compensation be paid to affected vendors immediately and warned that the Mayor, MPs, and NDA MLAs would be held accountable unless justice was delivered to the vendors.

“Nearly 40,000 families have lost livelihoods. Many women vendors who had availed of loans under Mudra, YSR Cheyutha, and Cheyodu schemes have lost their shops. Essential assets such as refrigerators and grinders were damaged. This government has crushed women’s self-reliance and small businesses,” he said.

Alleging that the government was deliberately stalling Visakhapatnam’s growth to favor Amaravati, Mr. Raju said, “They are mortgaging Vizag’s future, diverting wealth and land to Amaravati, while destroying small traders here. This is an attack on the poor.”

He said that the YSRCP would continue its fight until the government apologised, compensated the victims, and restored justice to street vendors.

Meanwhile, Jana Sena Party (JSP) general secretary Bolisetty Satyanarayana said adequate arrangements should be made for vendors under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.

“The Act grants vendors the right to legally operate and protects them from unlawful eviction, and gives access to welfare schemes such as insurance, health benefits, and PM SVANidhi loans with a ‘certificate of vending’ issued by the GVMC. Vendors are also responsible for maintaining cleanliness and avoiding obstruction of public pathways,” he said.

Mr. Satyanarayana said serious allegations had surfaced regarding unauthorised collection of nearly ₹25 lakh per month from 240 stalls on Jail Road and about ₹50 lakh per month from 1,750 other stalls and the same shall be recovered.

He urged the GVMC to adopt regulated models such as fixed business hours (10 pm to midnight), mandatory licensing and the FSSAI, strict hygiene and waste disposal rules, monitoring and penalties for violations, and transparent stall allocation through tenders.

“Such measures will help protect the livelihoods of vendors, while ensuring citizens receive safe, hygienic food in a well-regulated environment,” he said.