Small vendors of the tourist town of Mamallapuram have urged the Tamil Nadu government to provide them with a permanent location to sell their wares in the surroundings of the ASI monuments.
There are about 150 shops selling caps, toys, cut-fruits, juice and tender coconuts around the monuments, but they are often removed, being branded encroachments.
Kali, a vendor, said shops were removed quite often by the police. “We do not have permanent structures. We have carts and small boxes that can be moved around. If it rains or is too hot, we have umbrellas. After over 18 months of lockdown, it is only now that crowd has started coming to the town and we are able to start repaying loans taken during the lockdown,” she said.
Sumathi, a tender coconut vendor, said they had been selling such items for over 40 years. “Waterbottles and tender coconuts do well in the afternoons. So do caps and coolers among children. We cannot sell our wares from permanent shops since our investment is small and we have to be where the crowds are. Nobody will walk a kilometre for a bottle of water,” she pointed out.
M.K. Sreenivasan, president of the Tourist Guides Union, urged the government to demarcate spots for these shops.
Space can be provided near the parking lots. Shops can be constructed on land belonging to the Sthalasayana Perumal Temple, he added.
Sources in the Tourism Department said the roads in front of the monuments were marked as pedestrian zones. “We need to work out a solution for the vendors. Though we keep identifying alternative locations for them, they keep coming back to these streets. The town has been selected as an Iconic Place by the Government of India. A detailed project report has been sent to the Centre. If that is cleared, the town can be transformed,” an official said.
Published - December 17, 2021 01:06 am IST
