Thiruvananthapuram corporation to designate zones, introduce space limit to curb street vending

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city corporation is gearing up to introduce a comprehensive plan to regulate street vending through designated vending zones and strict space limits. The operators of fast food trucks had approached the chief ministers office seeking intervention after the recent eviction of as many as 23 unauthorised food stalls along key stretches such as Sasthamangalam, Vellayambalam and Vazhuthacaud. Subsequently, they were directed to resume operations, mandating adherence to traffic safety norms. On Tuesday, the food trucks on these stretches resumed operations. We gave our complaint to the CMs office and a direction was issued permitting us to resume operations on certain conditions. Our operations should not disrupt pedestrian movement and traffic, Food Truck Owners Samiti district president Shahul Hameed said. Meanwhile, the city corporation has decided to formalise street vending across the city to ensure livelihood protection, while also regulating unchecked vending in view of the complaints from the residents, traffic police and major establishments on encroachment of footpaths and roads. The civic body has restricted space to 35 sq ft for food vendors and 30 sq ft for other street vendors. The move aims to curb encroachment, ensure pedestrian safety, and protect the rights of traditional vendors under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act. A top official of the corporation said that around 3,353 vendors, who are in the survey list approved by the Town Vending Committee, will be issued official vending certificates, granting them legal recognition and operational rights soon. Junior health inspectors and overseers in each ward have been directed to conduct field inspections to verify that the stalls conform to the space limits before the licenses are issued. The vending zones have already been vetted and cleared by the technical and town vending committees, and the proposal will soon be tabled at the council for final approval, he said. The official said that many people with enough capital are looking at street vending as a financially viable option as the investment is limited.