Bhubaneswar, Feb. 07 ( Odisha.in) Four officials of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation ( BMC ) sustained injuries during clash between the street vendors in one side and the police and BMC employees on the other side on Thursday morning during eviction drive at Rajmahal Square of the capital city. Five street vendors have been arrested .
The street vendors were served with notice for eviction in February, 2005 which the street vendors association had challenged in Orissa High Court and had received an interim order for maintaining status quo till disposal of the case.
However, on Wednesday evening , the BMC asked the street vendors to evict by Thursday morning , which was opposed by the street vendors.
Md. G. Madani,advocate for the street vendors while informing the BMC commissioner about the status quo order of the High Court had requested not to take steps for eviction till the disposal of the case.
Since there was no positive response from the BMC, the steet vendors had decided to resist any move by the BMC to evict them.
On thursday morning when the eviction squad of the BMC proceeded to the spot with bull dozers,. trucks etc under the leadership of officer P. Kanungo,and van loads of police, the vendords appealed them not to proceed and to wait till disposal of the case, pending in Orissa High Court.
Howver they did The demolition squad of BMC along with local police came with bull dozer and trucks on Thursday morning to evict the street vendors. The vendors had also blocked the roads with lighted tyres etc.
As the BMC’s eviction squad refused to oblige them and proceeded, the street vendors resisted the move which led to tussle between them.
The street vendors were ramed with lathis and during the tussle attacked the BMC officials in which P. Kanungo received serious ijuries on the head.
Two other officials of the BMC also sustained injuries. This lead to a chaotic condition on the spot and finally the eviction quad back tracked, announcing seven days more time for the vendors to evict.
There was tussle between the police and the vendors while the police tried to push back the irrate vendors. Five of the vendors were arrested by the police.
Odisha.in