Street vendors face vendetta in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam, September 23: YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Visakhapatnam District President KK Raju strongly condemned the coalition government’s vindictive actions against street vendors, stating that thousands of poor families dependent on self-employment have been pushed onto the streets without notice.
Leading a rally of vendors and YSRCP cadres from the Mahatma Gandhi statue to the GVMC office, Raju decried the demolition of pushcarts and stalls without prior intimation. Despite repeated police restrictions, the rally continued, culminating in a representation to the GVMC Commissioner.
Raju noted that these shops were not illegal. “The same GVMC authorities earlier encouraged vendors through trade licenses, electric meters, and designated hawker zones. Today, the same shops are being demolished purely out of political vendetta,” he said. He demanded immediate compensation to affected vendors and warned that the Mayor, MPs, and coalition MLAs would be held accountable unless justice was delivered.
He highlighted that nearly 40,000 families have lost livelihoods, many of them women who availed loans under Mudra, YSR Cheyutha, and Cheyodu schemes. Essential assets like refrigerators and grinders were destroyed, leaving vendors trapped in debt. “This government has crushed women’s self-reliance and small businesses,” he said.
Coalition government deliberately stalling Visakhapatnam’s growth to favor Amaravati, Raju said, “They are mortgaging Vizag’s future, diverting wealth and land to Amaravati, while destroying small traders here. This is an attack on the poor and the self-reliant.”
YSRCP vowed to continue its fight until the government apologizes, compensates victims, and restores justice to street vendors.