Residents up in arms against late-night functioning of wayside eateries in Kozhikode

Police plan heightened night patrolling to resolve clashes between residents and traders over late-night food business in Kozhikode.

With the recurring clashes between the residents and traders over late-night food business on the Kovoor-Iringadanpally road in Kozhikode city, the police are planning to put in place a heightened night patrolling arrangement on the route. Despite the rising opposition on the part of residents against the late-night sales, the merchants in the area are determined to proceed with their business.

A senior police officer at the Kozhikode Medical College station said that a meeting would be held with the participation of residents’ association leaders and merchant association functionaries to settle the issues amicably. Discussions are underway to fix a mutually agreeable deadline for the late-night business, considering the issues raised by the residents, he added.   

The residents came up against the mushrooming wayside eateries on either side of the road following the arrest of a key drug pusher from the area. According to them, drug peddlers were frequenting the area in the late-night hours and converting the locality into their business hub in the absence of any late-night enforcement drives.

There were also isolated incidents in which the drug peddlers engaged in street scuffles and spoiled the peace of residents in the area. The entry of a large number of vehicles had also created traffic issues on the route, interrupting the movement of emergency vehicles to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.

On Thursday (March 27), there were also clashes between the residents and the merchants over the late-night closure of wayside eateries. Five people sustained injuries in the incident. The residents locked horns with the traders, alleging that a group of merchants violated the earlier decision taken at a public meeting that all shops would be shut by 10.30 p.m. The situation was mellowed with the deployment of police officers from the Medical College station.

On Friday (March 28), the residents and the traders held separate meetings in the city to discuss the issues. Though the residents stood by their demand that no shops should function in the area after 10.30 p.m., the traders decided to oppose it at their meetings. The merchant association leaders also flayed the attack on their members by the residents. Police sources said conciliatory talks would be held to fix a mutually agreeable time to address the concerns of both sections.