'Revoke press release on street vendors' eviction'

Bruhat Bengaluru Beedhi Vyapari Sanghatanegala Okkuta members have asked the BBMP to revoke the press release it had issued on Friday, alleging that the details in the handout about the eviction of street vendors carried out by the Palike near ESI Hospital in Rajajinagar on May 20 were false.

The Okkuta members have written to Palike Commissioner Manjunath Prasad, Mayor Manjunath Reddy, among others, asking them to tender an apology to the affected vendors. They have also demanded that the Palike issue a new press release regarding the exact chronology of the day’s events.

“In the BBMP press release, BBMP West Zone Chief Engineer Govindaraju has stated that the street vendors resisted and protested against the operation and that they later besieged Geetha Misra, the petitioner in the case, in which the order was passed to evict the vendors. This is untrue as the vendors voluntarily removed their wares before the arrival of the earthmover and even watched their structures getting razed,” Okkuta members said.

They said the move to defame the street vendors of Rajajinagar was unacceptable. Over 60 street hawkers near ESI Hospital were cleared from the footpath on May 20 morning.