THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite crores being spent on setting up smart vending zones, street vendors in the state capital continue to struggle without any scientific rehabilitation plan in place. The corporation and Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL) have failed to operationalise two major smart vending zones constructed at RKV Lane near Museum and near Sree Chithra Park at East Fort.
Plagued by design flaws, the smart vending zone at RKV Lane — built at a cost of around Rs 3 crore to rehabilitate traders evicted from the Museum area — is now heading for partial demolition. Meanwhile, traders displaced from the Sree Chithra Park area are still awaiting allotment of shops at the vending zone near East Fort, raising serious concerns over the corporation’s rehabilitation plans for street vendors.
Even five months after the BJP-led council assumed office at the corporation, authorities are yet to implement a scientific rehabilitation mechanism for street vendors. Unscientific planning and poor design of vending facilities have emerged as major challenges.
The smart vending zone near Sree Chithra Park, though construction was completed in 2023, also remains non-operational. A senior official of SCTL said that redesign efforts for the RKV Lane vending zone have begun, though no final proposal has been approved yet.
“The challenge is to remodel it in a way that actually works for both traders and the public. If everything is demolished and rebuilt, it will effectively become an entirely new project. We are examining how much of the existing structure can be retained,” the official said.
According to the official, one proposal under consideration is reducing the number of shops and enlarging the remaining units to improve usability.
“At least some demolition will likely be necessary. Traders want frontage visibility, but the present layout feels congested,” the official said.
“If further construction is carried out on one side, the road will become narrower. That remains one of the major challenges,” the official said.
On the vending zone near Sree Chithra Park, the official said that shop allotment has remained pending for a long time despite the completion of construction.
“We have been waiting for nearly seven years since the Smart City project started in 2019, but the shops are still not functional. Though the structures look complete from outside, many shutters are damaged and anti-social elements frequently enter the premises. We are still continuing business in temporary roadside stalls without basic facilities like water or seating arrangements,” said Santha B, a street vendor awaiting allotment at the Smart City vending zone.
More practical approach soon, says mayor
Meanwhile, Mayor V V Rajesh alleged that only the contractors benefited from the projects and the public investment had failed to deliver results.
“Crores were spent for constructing the buildings, but they did not benefit the city. Many such assets are now lying wasted,” he said.
He said that the corporation would adopt a more practical and field-based approach towards rehabilitating street vendors and making Smart City vending zones functional.
“For years, there has only been talk about vendor rehabilitation and issuing IDs, but nothing meaningful has happened. Smart City projects created vending zones by spending crores of rupees, yet many of them remain unused,” said the mayor.
“We are not the ones who executed these projects. Our focus is on correcting the problems and ensuring these assets become useful. Political compulsions and pressure groups had influenced earlier decisions, and that is one reason why beneficiary lists were never properly finalised,” he said.
INACTION ZONE
Smart vending zone at RKV Lane, meant to rehabilitate traders evicted from Museum area, is now heading for partial demolition
Traders displaced from the Sree Chithra Park area are awaiting allotment at the vending zone near East Fort
Smart vending zone near Sree Chithra Park also remains non-operational
