Mangaluru: Street vendors staged a protest Sunday after Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) launched a drive to evict them and seize their goods.As civic officials arrived with trucks to clear the Sunday Bazaar, vendors sat in front of the vehicles, halting the operation. They shouted slogans and demanded that the corporation act in accordance with regulations governing street vending.An MCC official said the drive was conducted to evict illegal street vending in the city.The eviction operation was temporarily halted following the protest.BK Imtiyaz of Dakshina Kannada District Street Vendors Association (CITU) said the drive was carried out without providing an alternative arrangement. “The Sunday Bazaar in the city has been running for the past 50 years. The street vendors foiled this eviction attempt through unity and commitment. Instead of carrying out such operations, MCC should decide on an alternative arrangement. Unilateral and unlawful operations are not the solution,” he said.Functionaries of the association, including Abdul Rahiman, Santosh RS, Muzaffar Ahmed, Mohammed Mustafa, Vijay Jain, MN Shivappa, Naushad Ullal, and Hamza Mohammed, led the protest.
