HYDERABAD: The Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP) could cause about a thousand people to lose their jobs, and this is an issue Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi will need to address.
Ever since the CPP came into force and the areas near the historical monument were shut off to motorists, vendors in the region reported massive losses. Shopkeepers around Charminar say their business is just 40 to 60 per cent of what it used to be.
The main issues, they say, are restricted flow of traffic and lack of parking space. “Earlier, buyers would come on bikes and cars, and stop in front of the shops. Now, since the Charminar perimeter has been cordoned off, customers have to park their vehicles elsewhere and walk to the otherwise-restricted area,” an employee at Tazeen Bangles store at Charminar said.
Though the state government and AIMIM legislators have promised two parking spots, one at Khilwat and another at the now-demolished Charminar Bus Stand, progress on these projects is yet to be seen.
A pedestrian bridge over Musi river is also on the cards, to relocate the vendors from Charminar. But it is unclear if it would see the light of day.
On Sunday, when a businessman, who claimed to represent vendors from Dewan Deori and Pathargatti, asked Owaisi a question along similar lines, the MP sought a representation signed by vendors and said the issue would be taken up after the elections.