More hawkers evicted from temple premises

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Forty more hawkers were removed from the premises of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple on Wednesday, as the City police and the Fort police continued a joint operation to secure the high security area. According to the police, the authorities would start installing sign boards inside the Fort banning parking as well as street vending from Thursday onwards. ‘’We’ve completed the evictions now,’’ Fort CI Anil Kumar said. The hawkers evicted from around the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple premises will not be rehabilitated by the Corporation, Mayor K Chandrika said.  Reacting to the evictions which began on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday, she said that the hawkers were unauthorised and cannot be rehabilitated at the cost of the public. On Tuesday alone, the Corporation and the Fort police had evicted over 300 hawkers who had set up stalls on all four sides of the temple inside the Fort. ‘’We took the decision as the temple and its environs were declared a high security zone,’’ she said. City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham told Express that peddling and street vending have been proscribed inside the Fort premises as they raise a security threat to the temple where immense riches have been unearthed. With the authorities cracking down on the vendors, the streets around the temple wear a deserted look now. Ramachandra Lane (Abhayananda Swamy lane), which was one of the most crowded places in the city where vegetables, fruits, fancy items and readymade clothes were lined up awaiting buyers, is now occupied by two-wheelers. Apart from a few hawkers who were seen selling ‘dholaks’ and toys, the otherwise busy street appeared deserted. Rajan Khan, a native of Delhi who had many takers for his ‘dholaks’ near the temple before the eviction, seemed to be clueless on how to support his big family at Beemapalli. ‘’I can’t take forward the business like this,’’ he lamented, pointing his fingers at two police officers who were guarding the streets. The decision of the authorities has left many lives in turmoil. ‘’The temple and the thronging devotees had given a second innings to our lives,’’ said Ambika, a widow who became a street vendor after the death of her husband. Same is the case with Chandrika and Prasanna, two widows hailing from Muttathara. Legitimate shop owners in the area also share their woes. Koyakutty, a staff with Fair Deal footwear, is of the opinion that the eviction will devastate the families of the street vendors. ‘’The business in the shops is proportional to the number of people who visit the street. They are the crowd pullers and their absence will affect our sales too,’’ he said.