Authorities in Thrikkakara municipality have removed 118 unauthorised roadside vending stalls across Kakkanad and nearby areas, following a direction from the Kerala High Court. The overnight enforcement operation also cleared political flagpoles and advertising boards installed without permission.
The special inspection began after midnight on Wednesday and covered Kakkanad, the Seaport–Airport Road, Civil Line, IMG Junction, Mavelipuram and the NGO Quarters area. A municipal squad dismantled the roadside stalls and removed other structures during the operation, according to a report by Madhyamam.
Only shops holding temporary municipal licences were allowed to continue operating. The action was also directed at stalls against which complaints had been raised alleging narcotics-related activity, as well as establishments that had not vacated despite prior warnings from the municipality.
The municipality issued notices and imposed fines on stall owners. Political parties that had installed unauthorised flagpoles and advertising boards were also fined and served notices, according to the report. The enforcement therefore covered not only informal vending structures but also other encroachments affecting public spaces and roadside visibility.
The operation is the third municipal demolition drive against unauthorised street vending centres in six months. The repeated action points to continuing difficulties in regulating roadside commercial activity in a rapidly urbanising part of the Kochi metropolitan region, although the report does not provide details of any rehabilitation or relocation arrangement for the affected vendors.
Kakkanad and its surrounding corridors include major office, institutional and residential destinations, making footpath access, roadside management and traffic movement important municipal concerns. The locations covered in the drive include several high-use roads and junctions, but the supplied report does not specify the number of pedestrians or traffic users affected by the stalls.
The municipality said inspections and removals would continue in the coming days. The next phase of enforcement is expected to focus on identifying and clearing further unauthorised roadside structures, while licensed temporary shops will be permitted to remain under the municipality’s current arrangement.
