Hyderabad street vendors fight for survival as mall boom swallows their spaces

Hyderabad's plight highlights a conflict in its urban vision. While malls symbolise modern progress, the eradication of street vending spaces without viable alternatives disregards thousands of livelihoods and the essential informal economy

By Ali Raiyan

Hyderabad: A bitter struggle for survival grips Hyderabad’s street vendors amid the relentless expansion of glitzy shopping malls and eviction drives, shrinking their spaces and shattering livelihoods.

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Across upscale neighbourhoods and increasingly encircling mega-malls, traditional vendors face a daily battle. Civic authorities, pressured to ‘beautify’ and ‘decongest’ areas around these commercial behemoths, seek to clear the street vendors.

Mohammad Akram’s story is tragically common. “The space where my family sold fruits for twenty years is now just a ‘no-vending zone’,” he lamented near Banjara Hills. “One day, GHMC vans came. No warning. They took everything. Where was I supposed to go?”

These evictions violate the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. The law mandates surveys to identify legal vending zones, establishes Town Vending Committees (TVCs) with vendor representation, and protects against eviction without notice and rehabilitation. Yet, implementation is weak.

“It’s like playing cat and mouse with the police every day,” said Lakshmi, a pickle seller near an upscale mall, describing drastically reduced income. Vendors are forced to less profitable areas, losing their customer base. Confiscation means losing not just daily earnings, but their entire capital. Many pay bribes (“hafta”) to operate temporarily.

Some focus on niche traditional products, others rely solely on loyal customers like office workers, domestic staff, and ironically, mall security guards and cleaners who can’t afford mall prices. “The mall security guards used to be my best customers for breakfast,” said Ramesh, a displaced dosa vendor near Kondapur.

The vanishing vendors have wider consequences – lower-income residents and workers lose access to affordable meals and essentials and the unique neighbourhood street character gets eroded.

Hyderabad‘s plight highlights a conflict in its urban vision. While malls symbolise modern progress, the eradication of street vending spaces without viable alternatives disregards thousands of livelihoods and the essential informal economy. The survival of these micro-entrepreneurs and the city’s vibrant street culture hinges on genuine political will for enforcement and the creation of truly viable vending zones.