Ahead of Onam, unchecked vending takes shine off Shankhumukham

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the Onam vacation around the corner, the Shankhumukham beach a popular tourist spot in the city dons a sorry look. The reason: unregulated vending is turning into a major nuisance despite several crores being spent on the development and relaunch of Shankhumukham as a prime location. With the plan to shift them to designated zones yet to materialise, street vendors have taken over the recently developed beachfront areas, leaving visitors and tourists at the receiving end. Thiruvananthapuram corporation has identified 116 street vendors in the beach area. Shankhumukham councillor Seraphine Freddy said the unregulated vending is causing a huge inconvenience to the public. Even if there is no beach, scores of people visit the destination every day. There will be a huge rush during the vacation, Seraphine said. Meanwhile, the construction of the street-food zone to rehabilitate traders running food stalls at Shankhumukham has been completed. The project, being implemented by the Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra using the National Health Mission (NHM) fund, is expected to decongest the destination, she said. Around 17 food vendors are set to be relocated to the street-food zone ahead of Onam, Seraphine said. The councillor said many new vendors are setting up shops and the police and the tourism department are unable to curb the practice. A decision was taken that no new vendor will be allowed at the beach, but that isnt being followed. The police and the tourism authorities are turning a blind eye, she alleged. While the project to give carts to food vendors is yet to materialise, officials said the MLA and the district collector are set to hold a meeting to reach a consensus regarding the allocation of shops. The project to distribute carts with colour codes will take off soon. Around 60 vendors have submitted documents. The delay happened because we decided to allot a shop only to one individual from a family, Corporation secretary Jahamgeer S said.