Mangaluru: A drive by Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) against footpath vendors Sunday turned tense, with street vendors arguing with officials near Govt Lady Goschen Hospital, here, prompting police intervention.Police took into custody nine persons, including street vendors at the Sunday Bazaar and functionaries of the Dakshina Kannada District Street Vendors Association (affiliated with CITU).Street vendors and association functionaries had gathered in large numbers after MCC officials arrived in the morning to act against illegal footpath vending. Vendors opposed the move, forcing police to step in and detain several of them.Officials ignored the street vendors’ requests for permission to conduct business.MCC commissioner Ravichandra Naik, who reached the spot, tried to convince the vendors about the rules. “As per the rules, you are not supposed to conduct business here. There will be legal action if anyone violates the rules,” he warned.BK Imthiyaz, the association’s honorary president, said the police had taken nine persons into custody, including association’s general secretary Santhosh RS and vice-president Sikhandar Baig.He said the Sunday Bazaar serves both vendors and consumers and urged officials to uphold street vending laws impartially and allow them to continue conducting business.It may be recalled that street vendors had protested when the MCC conducted a similar drive on June 14. As officials arrived with trucks to seize goods and evict Sunday Bazaar traders, vendors staged a protest by sitting in front of the trucks, forcing a temporary halt to the eviction.
