Licensed street vendors operating in Fort Kochi have received an assurance from the Sub-Collector that they will not be evicted, after a workers’ federation protested notices issued during a drive against unauthorised roadside vending.
The Kerala State Street Vendors Workers Federation’s Kochi area committee submitted a memorandum to the Fort Kochi Sub-Collector on October 23, raising concerns over notices served to vendors who operate with licences issued by the Kochi Corporation. The federation said the notices had created anxiety among workers who believed they were being treated in the same manner as unauthorised vendors.
The protest was organised in response to action being taken to remove unauthorised street vendors in Fort Kochi. Federation representatives told the Sub-Collector that they did not oppose the removal of vendors operating without authorisation. Their objection, they said, was to the action against vendors who possess valid municipal licences.
The federation also said that the Kochi Corporation had not yet completed the process of identifying vending zones. It argued that licensed vendors should not be removed until the corporation finalises the zones and shifts recognised vendors to suitable locations. According to the federation, eviction before that process is completed would affect the livelihoods of workers who currently depend on street vending.
The Sub-Collector assured the representatives that action would not be taken against vendors operating with valid licences, the federation leaders said after the meeting. The assurance came as the central issue in the dispute remained the distinction between unauthorised vending and vending conducted under an existing corporation licence.
Workers arrived at the Revenue Divisional Office in a procession from Kunnumpuram. Police stopped the procession in front of the office, after which a meeting was held. District vice-president M. Umar inaugurated the meeting, while Kochi area president V.K. Abdul Aziz presided. Secretary K.B. Salam and Muhammad Abbas also addressed the gathering.
The dispute places the implementation of vending regulation in Fort Kochi alongside the immediate livelihood concerns of licensed workers. The federation’s position is that enforcement against unauthorised vending can continue, but that recognised vendors should be protected until designated vending zones are finalised and an organised relocation process is completed. The Sub-Collector’s assurance is the next stated administrative step, while the corporation’s completion of the vending-zone process remains central to the issue.
