Hyderabad: Fruit vendors doing business on pushcarts for decades in front of the Macca Masjid would now have a new address.
Traffic police and GHMC authorities will shift them near the Charminar bus stand.
With the Charminar pedestrian project, GHMC authorities were expected to start the flooring works on the stretch in front of the Charminar Tibbi Unani Hospital.
“Probably next week onwards, the GHMC will start the works on the stretch between Charminar monument and Macca Masjid stretch. This time, we will get the push carts to shift to a new place,” said Additional DCP (Traffic) Mohd Tajuddin Ahmed.
The traffic police and the GHMC had identified a place near the Charminar bus stand to shift the pushcarts.
“Push carts illegally occupy the road. Still we allocated some space and put up a chain to stop them from coming on to the road. Now they will be moved from that place,” said a traffic police official.
About 150 push carts of fruit sellers do business on the stretch between Charminar and Macca Masjid.
The vendors do business in three shifts between 8 am and midnight and pay some amount to the shop keepers to allow them to park the carts in front of their shops.
In mid-1980s, push carts were allotted ‘mulgis’ at the Nizamia Government Tibbi Hospital. The QQSUDA had constructed 29 big and 47 small mulgis there.
However, over a period, these were rented out illegally by the push carts owners. A few were ‘sold’ though the property was owned by QQSUDA.
The present occupants pay rent to the QQSUDA which ranges between Rs 700 and Rs 1,500 a month depending on size.
A 15 per cent increase in rent was on the anvil. “Going by the market value we collect less rent as our intention is to lease it out only to unemployed and poor people,” QQSUDA officials said.
