City hawkers to get IDs

24 June 2015 09:43 pm

Street vendors, who have been given permission by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) to set up their stalls, would be given an identification card to operate, Colombo Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil said yesterday.

Reiterating that he did not give permission for street vending to take place in all parts of Colombo, he said that permission was given for street vendors only on certain pavements in Pettah.

“If street vendors were to set up stalls they are required to produce an ID issued by the CMC. Till a permanent solution is found we have given permission for the vendors only along the by-roads of First Cross Street, the Second Cross Street and Third Cross Street in Pettah to carry out their businesses during the Ramadhan season,” he said.

Muzammil said that a decision to issue identification cards was made because street vendors sell the stalls given by the CMC and continue to operate elsewhere without paying their due rates to the municipality.

“With the upcoming elections there was a lot of interference by political parties to provide a comprehensive solution for the vendors. Now however it has been sorted and we are carrying out discussions with the relevant authorities to find a permanent solution once the Ramadhan season is over,” he said. (Rumana Razick)