Street vendors near Charminar battle eviction

Hyderabad: Uncertainty looms large on over 5,000 small vendors surrounding the iconic Charminar. It was an easy-going affair for them till 2 pm on Tuesday when the police started evicting them to secure the high-security zone during Ganesh immersion and Milad juloos.

Already living on the edge after Covid, lack of business and several restrictions from authorities disturbed their lives further. Food and clothing vendors were most affected. Food vendors suffer in particular because people have become more cautious of hygiene.

Small establishments who have been doing petty business on their pushcarts around the iconic structure bore the brunt due to the sudden eviction by the police, the vendors lamented.

“I have been selling kids’ garment for the past 30 years, even last year the police allowed us to operate a day before Ganesh Nimarjanam, this is the first time the police forced used to shut down three days prior to the festival,” M. Mandal said.

Reacting to the eviction, Samdani Begum, another vendor says they hardly earn between '500 and '1200 on regular days. Sometimes it goes up to '2,000 or even more. We have been here for decades and we never violated any rules. “All of a sudden, cops asked us to close. Our entire family members are dependent on our earnings. If they would have announced ten days in advance, we would have saved some money,” Samdani said adding that they have to wait till the immersion while our families have to starve.

Some like, Jameel Pasha, a pushcart vendor, says that he was shocked when the police accompanied with pick-up vehicles came and warned us to close.

“Yesterday we couldn’t make business as the police forced to shut down and that too during peak hours. It is just unfair on the part of authorities,” Mohammed Salani who sells bangles on his pushcart said.

“I do not know the officer’s name, but he was a senior police officer. He directed other officials to forcefully shut all shops surrounding Charminar, Mecca Masjid and Moghalpura area,” another artificial jewellery vendor,” Swapna shared.