KOCHI: Aiming to regulate vending activities in Kochi and transform the city’s streets, the Kochi Corporation has taken steps to evict illegal street vendors and rehabilitate 2,351 vendors who were identified through a survey in the city itself. The move comes as the street vending plan is set to be implemented across the city.
“The eviction of unauthorised street vendors is a continuous process. However, we are now launching a special drive. The eviction squad will inspect the streets to identify and remove illegal vendors. Also, the 2,351 identified vendors will be relocated to 69 vending zones,” said an official with the Kochi Corporation.
The drive to rehabilitate unauthorised street vendors was launched back in June this year in Fort Kochi and later expanded to Mattancherry. The list of 69 street vending zones was identified and approved in 2022, and 2,351 street vendors identified through the survey will benefit from the initiative.
A draft bylaw on street vending, prepared by a committee comprising councillors Adv P S Viju, Adv Priya Prashant, Adv Antony Kureethara, and Adv Minimol V K, was approved by the state government in June 2024.
“In some areas, we have already rehabilitated street vendors after distributing kiosks to them. We need to ensure that the vendors are following the rules and are trading in the allocated area, without acquiring more area. There were issues in implementing the project. Now we will be completing the rehabilitation work with the help of the eviction squad under the corporation,” said J Sanilmon, chairman of town planning committee.
Along with streamlining street vending, and cleaning up the areas, we also aim to protect licensed street vendors. The zones were identified based on land availability and business opportunities.
The move will benefit the vendors, as well as the public and the tourists. We have notified the vendors to shift as soon as possible,” added the official. The corporation expects the relocation process to be completed in the coming months, aiming to create cleaner, more organised streets for residents and visitors alike.
