HYDERABAD: The ‘Footpath Mamool mafia’, working round Charminar is again, virtually instantly after the road facet hawkers returned for enterprise.
Goons and pahelwans are again to extorting ‘mamools’ or safety cash from hawkers whereas the shop-keepers too step in to imposing and amassing just a little ‘payment’ for permitting hawkers to hawk their wares in entrance of their outlets.
In a number of circumstances, shopkeepers can gather anyplace from Rs 100 a day from every push-cart hawker, to a notch larger relying on location and nature of products bought.
By an estimate, over 3,800 hawkers, together with minors, do enterprise on roads and footpaths from Nayapul to Shah Ali Banda, together with on the Lad Bazar and Khilwat belt. The footpath’s japanese facet in Nayapul is occupied by fruit-vendors.
The roads resulting in Charminar, close to and across the monument itself have sprung again to life after being practically abandoned for months throughout the lockdown. Not simply the older shopkeepers who had abandoned their spots on the streets to promote throughout the lockdown, however newer ‘businessmen’ are right here too, principally youth who had misplaced jobs on account of Covid-19, who too have taken to petty street-side companies to make a dwelling.
In the meantime, house comes at a premium for these hawkers. At occasions, even at the price of an arm or a leg if anybody dares to defy the goons. On February 8, some distributors scuffled over house, which ended with the police registering a case of try to homicide on a few of them.
A gang of 5 attacked two hawkers, Mohammed Majid and Mohammed Naveed, with iron rods. Majid’s leg was fractured within the assault.
The Hussaini Alam police registered a case below Part 370 of the IPC in opposition to Abdullah bin Mohammed, Sadiq bin Mohammed, Mohammed Safiuddin and Mohammed Naseer and remanded them.
When Deccan Chronicle spoke to a cross-section of hawkers within the space, they revealed that store keepers gather cash from them to ‘park’ their carts or arrange different cellular ‘items’ in entrance of their outlets. This ‘payment’ can vary anyplace between Rs 50 to Rs 100, going as much as Rs 500 in some circumstances, relying on the product the hawker sells and the store’s location.
Inquiries additionally revealed that in some locations, shopkeepers gather charges from a couple of road vendor. Not surprisingly, most hawkers weren’t comfy whereas speaking concerning the issues they face.
Talking solely on the situation of anonymity, a vendor stated, “there’s a tier system in what they gather from us. If the stand on which I dangle garments to promote has a couple of tier, then I’ve to offer the shopkeeper Rs 200 per tier. In some circumstances, it may go as excessive as Rs 500.”
These ‘parking’ charges, he stated, additionally relied on the kind of wares being bought. Those that promote knick-knacks, standard with vacationers, often find yourself paying greater than these promoting supplies like pajamas, socks and the like.
Calling the photographs round Charminar and Mecca Masjid are goons and self-styled pahelwans, who gather mamool (safety cash of their dialect). “If anybody refuses to pay, the goons harass us. At occasions, even cops harass us,” a hawker stated.
Then there are ‘facilitators’, robust arming youth who extort cash from hawkers after which ‘handle’ the police.
Requested if they’re left with something after shelling out ‘charges’, a hawker defined that those that occupy a great spot can take residence greater than Rs 1,000 after assembly ‘ these day by day bills’.
“Many vacationers don’t haggle as they wish to purchase one thing as a memento to commemorate their go to to Charminar. Most of us make sufficient, and on some days, the take-home is admittedly good,” the hawker stated.
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