Hyderabad: While the GHMC and traffic police are clearing the pavements across the city, the vendors are not too worried by the move as they know they can return with the help of local leaders and the footpath mafia.
The vendors pay huge amounts of money to local leaders and shop owners to run their businesses on a footpath. Mostly business areas like Koti, Ameerpet, Secunderabad railway station, Charminar, Pathergatti, Mehdipatnam, Dilsukhnagar and Kukatpally work on this basis. “Some vendors carry on with a business at a spot for decades. So they would not part with the spot easily. Whenever they intend to leave the spot they either sell it to someone for a huge price or rent it out. The deal is drafted on a bond paper though it is government space,” said Syed Nadeem, a shop owner.
“People are ready to pay for there is lot of business and whenever they want to sell it they get a good price for it. As it is an issue of livelihood, the authorities won’t be too hars,” said K. Shiva, a vendor.
“Whenever we register cases, they pay the penalty and continue at the same place. We came to know that pavement shops generate more business than the shop whose frontage they occupy,” said an inspector.
