Dweep Tulika

  By Dweep Tulika There is an uncomfortable question emerging on the streets of Sri Vijaya Puram : When the administration removes a roadside vendor in the name of clearing public space, where does the protection of that vendor's livelihood begin and end? The question is not whether roads, footpaths and public land should remain accessible. They should. Illegal occupation of government land and obstruction of pedestrian movement cannot simply be ignored. But a street vendor is not automatically the same thing as an encroacher . That distinction is particularly important because street vending in India is governed by a specific legal framework — the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 — and Sri Vijaya Puram Municipal Council itself lists the Act, the Union Territory's 2015 Rules and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands Street Vendors Scheme, 2016 among the regulations applicable to the municipality. Clearing Encroachments Is...

Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 1 August 2026 Political activist and former Lok Sabha candidate Manoj Paul has stated that the Calcutta High Court's Circuit Bench at Port Blair has issued notice in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by him concerning alleged encroachment on government land at Lillipur Junction . Speaking outside the court after the hearing, Paul claimed that the matter relates to a building allegedly constructed on land previously occupied by APWD Quarters H-91 and H-92 . According to him, the Court observed that a prima facie case existed and issued notice to the respondents. Paul further claimed that the Court has sought responses from the Deputy Commissioner , Superintendent of Police , Chief Secretary and the Andaman Public Works Department (APWD) regarding the allegations raised in the PIL. In his statement, Paul alleged that the construction involved encroachment on government land and also made allegations regard...