25 April 2010 02:47 am
Hundreds of pavement hawkers in Kandy say they will oppose moves to forcefully evict them using military force tomorrow. Kandyan authorities however say that the hawkers have to move and will be given an alternative place to continue their businesses.
The decision to evict the hawkers came after the Acting Mayor of Kandy Suminda Wickramasingha told the Kandy Municipal Council members last week that he would clear the Kandy pavements off hawkers even if he had to quit his Chair. “I will resign even if I have to but will evict these hawkers who have made no space for the pedestrians to walk peacefully,” Wickramasingha said.
Wickramasingha confirmed to Daily Mirror online that military and police force will be used if the hawkers refuse to move and start a protest in the area.
Despite the Acting Mayor’s stern decision to evict these hundreds of hawkers, hawkers told Daily Mirror online that they will not leave the area as they have been functioning their businesses on the Kandy pavements for years.
The hawkers who say that they have not been given any official notice to vacate from the Kandy pavements urge the authorities to reconsider especially since military force will be used to evict them. They also state that their businesses are peaceful and cause no harm to the public. (Daily Mirror online)
SEE RELATED FEATURE: http://www.dailymirror.lk/index.php/component/content/article/131-news-features/3323-hawkers-fight-against-eviction.html
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