CANACONA
According to sources, a court had ordered the CMC not to allow the eateries/kiosks across the highway road and acting on the order, the council removed over a dozen kiosks operating by the side of NH17 within the council jurisdiction in the morning.
They included seven kiosks operating at the rickshaw goods carrier stand at Chaudi and all kiosks taken away by municipal authorities and kept behind the municipal building, added sources.
Sources said none of the kiosk operators were aware of the action taken by CMC, even though they were reportedly served notices by the council a month ago.
When the kiosk operators went to begin their activities on Wednesday evening, they were surprised to find that their ‘gaddas’ had disappeared and later learnt that CMC had removed them, based on their earlier notice.
All the kiosk operators were seen taking the evicted kiosks from the CMC’s possession and when trying to re-locate them at the same site, they were however prevented from doing so by the rickshaw drivers.
The rickshaw drivers argued that the space had been earmarked for the rickshaw stand and the kiosk operators were illegally occupying the site.
Confusion prevailed between the two groups, but the adamant rickshaw drivers refused to allow the kiosks operators to carry on their trade from the rickshaw stand.
The kiosk operators were heard pleading to allow them to conduct their trade as they had brought all their ingredients to conduct their day’s business.
“There are about 30 goods rickshaws using the stand, as earmarked by authorities as part of traffic arrangements in Chaudi town. The CMC should have made alternate arrangements before evicting them as per court order,” informed a rickshaw driver, Shankar Naik.
Another driver said: “Let CMC allot them another spot to conduct their trade legally with proper food license. The rickshaw stand is already inadequate to station rickshaws and accommodating kiosks is causing us hardships.”
