MLA Bhat gives meeting with street vendors a skip

Mangalore, June 23: N Yogish Bhat, the MLA of Mangalore South constituency, under whose limits, the street vendors has been facing the wrath of Mangalore City Corporation on Thursday skipped a scheduled meeting with the representatives of Beedhi Badi Vyaparasthara Horata Samiti.

The Samiti, which has been fighting against MCC's eviction drive against street vendors in the busy areas of the city has decided to hold a meeting with Mr Bhat on Thursday morning at his residence.

Police stopped the Samiti members, half way through near SDM College, when they were taking out a procession towards the house of Mr Bhat at around 11 a.m. It was then that the Samiti members came to know through the police that Yogish Bhat stayed away from meeting them. It is alleged that Mr Bhat deliberately skipped the meeting with street vendors and stayed back in Bangalore.

Meanwhile, Sunil Kumar Bajal, the leader of the Samithi has pledged to continue the struggle against the “pro-rich and anti-poor MCC” until it takes appropriate steps to preserve the interests of street-vendors.

He said that various like-minded organisations would join the victims of civic-tigers, in a novel protest against the MCC's move on Saturday near City Bus Terminus at 3 pm.