KOCHI: More than 50 illegal makeshift shops and stalls in Fort Kochi heritage zone were evicted on Tuesday during a drive initiated by Fort Kochi sub collector Adeela Abdullah. The drive was launched to remove encroachments in the area based on the instruction of district collector Muhammad Y Safirulla. The collector had also instructed that the eviction drive be carried out in other parts of the city. Illegal shops near the Vasco de Gama square, beach and the RDO office were removed. Though a group of vendors protested against the drive, the Revenue authorities continued the evacuation.
Mayor Soumini Jain told DC that the civic body was for demolishing illegal shops in the heritage zone. “Based on the Supreme Court order on Street Vendors Policy, the Corporation is preparing a list of authorized vendors who are included in the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM),” Ms. Jain said. Corporation town planning committee chairperson Shainy Mathew said that though the civic body was informed of the drive, it did not participate in the demolition exercise.
Meanwhile, most Fort Kochi residents support the drive.
“It is high time a permanent solution was found on the issue of encroachment. Unless the Revenue authorities remove all the unauthorised vendors permanently, the Fort Kochi heritage zone will be destroyed as anti-social groups like drugs vendors and goonda gangs thrive here with the support of whom the illegal traders sustain. The District administration should deal with them with an iron hand,” said a former Corporation council member. There were gangs involved in the sale of spaces near the beach and Vasco de Gama square after cleaning the area, he alleged.
Never-ending encroachment issues
Even though the City Corporation and the district administration had carried out a series of evacuation drives in the past, the basic issue of encroachment of heritage areas in Fort Kochi remains unsolved. Though on several occasions, authorities attempted to relocate vendors from the makeshift shops, they are not ready to move and therefore soon after the demotion, the shops resurface. The stalls set up near the beach obstruct free movement of pedestrians by encroaching on footpaths.
The revenue, police and civic administration had removed hundreds of makeshift shops in the past but failed to introduce a permanent monitoring system to prevent further encroachments. “Proper management of heritage sites like Fort Kochi and Mattancherry through maintenance of roads, drains, daily cleaning and evacuation are important as these spots are the face of the city and attract international tourists,” said a civic expert.
Local residents demand the active involvement of the Fort Kochi Heritage Zone Conservation Society, nominated by the state government to coordinate the conservation and management of heritage sites in the city in finding a permanent solution to encroachment. There are allegations that the traders have come back with the support of political parties.
