Tirumala hawkers protest as TTD turns strict on licences

The TTD says hawkers had not renewed their licences for the past 30 years. Over 150 hawker families are affected by the present crackdown.

Politics got intertwined with the TTD action. Local Telugu Desam leaders said many YSRC supporters were among the stall owners and they avoided licence renewal. In response, TTD's revenue and panchayat officials initiated action and closed down numerous stalls without giving them any notice in recent days.

This was despite claims that a majority of the affected vendors were locals associated with Tirumala.

One hawker expressed his dismay: "I've been running this stall for over 20 years. My father was the original allottee. He died 19 years ago. Despite repeated appeals, the TTD didn't renew our licences but allowed us to continue running the stalls. Now, they've closed down these stalls without any notice after allegations were levelled by TD leaders."

The previous trust board under the YSRC government had initiated a process of name changing, transfer and renewal of licences for all stalls, shops and houses in Tirumala. While TTD's revenue and panchayat departments have completed 90 per cent of all these cases, they halted the renewal of licence of 151 hawkers, citing unpaid fees or lack of renewal since the 1990s.

The previous board passed a resolution to renew these licences by collecting the unpaid fees and regularising them. However, the change in state government and the allegations levelled by the local TD leaders that many in the list were YSRC supporters, stalled this process.

Meanwhile, the controversy also highlights potential revenue for the TTD. Estimates suggest that renewing all 151 licences could bring in `10-11 crore initially, with an additional annual licence fee of `54-72 lakh. A TTD official acknowledged the potential revenue benefits for TTD but said there was pressure on them for urgent action.

Many affected hawkers reject allegations of political connections for the vendors. A vendor stated, "Some in the list are YSRC supporters and some are TD supporters. But most of us are locals earning a living from this trade."

As TTD prepares to intensify its drive on Wednesday to remove these hawker stalls, the vendors are planning to approach the state government for intervention at the highest level.