Mangaluru, March 26, 2023: City Police have been accused of harassing street vendors in Mangaluru, following their efforts to clear the Rao and Rao Circle area of pushcart vendors on Saturday.
Bunder Police allegedly told two vendors Abdul Khalid and Mohammed Riyaz on Saturday morning to clear from the road near Rao and Rao Circle. The vendors, therefore, have accused the policemen of harassing them. The police took two vendors into custody and confiscated their pushcarts.
Soon after receiving information, dozens of street vendors arrived at the police station and warned of a mass protest.However, when leaders of the street vendors intervened, they were released.
BK Imthiyaz, honorary president of Dakshina Kannada District Street Vendors Welfare Association said that Khalid and Riyaz were street vendors identified by the Mangaluru City Corporation’s (MCC) Town Vending Committee (TVC).