Tensions prevails as officials try to evict fruit vendors in Afzalgunj

Hyderabad: Mild tension prevailed when the local police and GHMC authorities tried to remove the establishments near the Chaman mosque, Afzalgunj bus stop on Thursday.

Following complaints about encroachments along the roadside near the Musi River, officials began removal work. Local residents informed Pathergatti corporator Syed Sohail Quadri and AIMIM MLC Mirza Rahmath Baig, who arrived at the site with a group and prevented the officials from carrying out the work.

The MLC Rahmath Baig said that the fruit vendors have been conducting business for the last 50 years and the authorities cannot take away their means of livelihood.

Rahmath Baig said that, acting on complaints from a few individuals, the police were trying to evict petty fruit vendors. He added that the AIMIM would not allow such action unless proper alternatives were provided to the vendors. The party leaders demanded that the case should be registered against the person involved in the action. Tensions escalated when the vendors again placed their pushcarts on the road and re-tied the tarpaulin sheets that had been removed. The police did not intervene, fearing law and order issues.