Days after they protested against the 'high-handedness' of the traffic police, fruit vendors around Charminar in Hyderabad were relocated to the bus depot nearby.
The ongoing Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP) has hit the business of several fruit vendors as well as hawkers around the historic monument in Hyderabad.
Several policemen were deployed on Saturday, as the Pathergatti corporator of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Charminar MLA Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri reached the spot to talk to the vendors.
This development comes just two days after Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Prinicpal Secretary Arvind Kumar, inspected the CPP with senior officials of the state government.
The Principal Secretary said that the shops in the Charminar area must have uniform display boards detailing the heritage background, to safeguard the historic monuments in Hyderabad's Old City area.
The Principal Secretary also stated that a team of officials would shortly be sent to Isthanbul in Turkey, to study the integration of Architecture and heritage structures with transport and tourism.
The entire pedestrainisation project would cost around Rs 35 crore, he said.
Last week, after speaking to the project contractor along with the vendors and the traffic police, the local legislator managed to postpone the shifting temporarily. The MLA also assured the hawkers that an alternate place would be identified for them, in view of the pedestrian project.
According to reports, the CPP aims to pedestrianise a radius of 220 metres around Charminar, by diverting vehicular traffic through the Inner Ring Road (IRR) and the Outer Ring Road (ORR).
Meanwhile, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is also busy carrying out repair and conservation works on the monument and its pillars itself.
Charminar, which was built during Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah's rule in 1591, is a protected structure, as any construction within 200 meters around the monument can only be done after permission is obtained from the ASI and the National Monument Authority.t