Vendors invade busy city streets; pique residents, commuters alike

Hyderabad: Several stretches in various localities across the city are filled with vendor carts and makeshift stalls, who have occupied footpaths and roads, causing inconvenience to pedestrians, commuters and as well as residents.

It is often said that encroachments cannot be avoided because people do not listen, they are habituated to misuse of footpaths for personal benefits, and more than anything else, there is no supervision by GHMC and no control by traffic police.

According to residents, noise pollution and vehicular population have increased after the makeshift stalls and vendors have occupied the area. Though the municipality officials and the traffic police do remove the encroachments, they return in a few days. S Narayana, a resident of Film Nagar, said that the footpaths and roads are occupied by tiffin centres, fruits shops, fast food centres, fish stalls and other outlets. These have led to problems including traffic jams, liquor menace, dog menace. And invasion of privacy of residents as people stand on roads that have a direct view of houses. “Film Nagar might soon become Street Vendor Nagar,” said Narayana, a member of Film Nagar housing society.

The society also posted the issue on social media, tagging the GHMC and police to solve the menace, but no action was initiated. However, the city police posted, “You want police to do everything? There is a department called GHMC. Please request them and police can assist,” police stated.

Once serene residential localities have now become commercial places, with street vendors occupying avenues and roads. Encroachments on the pavements of areas, and the various stretches near the colonies, and across the IT corridor has led to traffic chaos, with pedestrians forced to walk on the roads, resulting in traffic snarls.

The vendors carry on their business encroaching the pavements in almost every part of the city, including Film Nagar, Uppal, LB Nagar, Mehdipatnam, Nampally, Ameerpet, Kukatpally, Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills. Moreover, every area in the Old City witnesses the vendors’ carts and food stalls on roads and people having to dealwith them on a daily basis. Encroachments on the pavements and stretches leads to traffic chaos, with pedestrians forced to walk on the roads and around the haphazardly parked vehicles.

Asif Hussain Sohail, a resident of Surya Nagar Colony and a member of Jubilee Hills Colony Association said that the entire stretch in the Surya Nagar Colony has been encroached by the bikes and car showrooms and service centres, and residents are inconvenienced with haphazard parking. “We had approached the authorities several times to free the stretch. Sometimes, though the authorities evict them, after a few days, they again continue.”Residents complain that these stalls are causing issues as the customers park their vehicles on roads, resulting in traffic jams.