Sudden eviction of hapless shopkeepers shocks Hassan MP

Hassan: On Thursday, Member of Parliament Shreyas Patel visited an area near the city’s cold water well where encroachments were cleared on Wednesday and listened to the complaints of shopkeepers.

Allegedly without giving any warning or notice, shopkeepers said that municipal officials and staff suddenly came and vacated their establishments, causing losses, they lamented.

“If we had been given notice and some time, we would have vacated the shops ourselves, but the officials suddenly swooped in and rendered us space-less,” a shopkeeper told Hassan Today.

Many of these small-time businessmen claim they depended on these shops for their livelihood.

Later, Patel spoke to reporters and said that it was a “wrong decision” on part of the municipal council staff to carry out sudden evictions without giving due notice.

He promised to bring the matter to the attention of the District Collector and ensure action against the officials.

“A little humanitarianism is essential when conducting such clearance operations.  The poor and street vendors should be shown some lenience. A meeting about this issue will be held very soon and I will ensure the operation is stopped till such time a clear policy on such matters is formulated,” the MP said.

Meanwhile, the MP also gave financial help to a poor street vendor and assured her that he was with her in her grief.