Street vendors cleared from downtown Cairo

Ahram Online , Sunday 26 Apr 2015

Authorities remove street vendors as part of drive to reduce congestion in downtown Cairo

Ramses
Handout photo of a tractor clearing vendors' shacks in Ramsis Square, Cairo, 26 April 2015. (Photo: Cairo governorate)

Security forces on Sunday removed street vendors from downtown Cairo's Ramses Square, state news agency MENA reported. 

Cairo governor Galal Saeed, the security director and military officers oversaw the evacuation in which tractor loaders removed the vendors’ shacks. 

Authorities have allocated an alternative spot for the vendors in the Ahmed Helmy area behind the central railway station in Ramses Square. 

Street vendors are a common sight on Egyptian streets, especially in busy areas such as downtown Cairo where they overcrowd pavements. 

In August 2014, the government moved hundreds of street vendors from downtown to Torgoman parking lot near Ramses. The vendors later complained of a decline in business as less buyers pass by their new market. 

The government has been trying to reduce traffic congestion in downtown Cairo as well as renovate the area.  

A multi-storey underground garage was opened in January in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square and was parking banned in major downtown streets. 

Iconic buildings in the areas have also been repainted. 

Ramses
Handout photo of security forces clearing vendors' shacks in Ramsis Square, Cairo, 26 April 2015. (Photo: Cairo governorate)

Ramses
Handout photo of security forces clearing vendors' shacks in Ramsis Square, Cairo, 26 April 2015. (Photo: Cairo governorate)

Ramses
Handout photo of security forces clearing vendors' shacks in Ramsis Square, Cairo, 26 April 2015. (Photo: Cairo governorate)

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