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Police ask Christmas tree sellers to get permits, then relent
View(s):Vendors selling cypress trees near the Town Hall in Colombo ahead of Christmas were in for a shock yesterday when the police informed them they had to have permits to sell the trees on the side of the road.
These sellers were dismayed when officers from the Cinnamon Gardens Police Station informed them yesterday to move away and vacate the pavement within two hours.
Angry sellers told the Sunday Times that they had been doing this business at the same place every Christmas season for more than 20 years without any interference from the police or any other official.
“This season, we started sales on the 17th and with just two days remaining for Christmas the police all of a sudden are asking us to move away. Where are we supposed to go?” lamented W. M. K. Wijesundara (48) from Bandarawela.
W. M. Tikiri Banda said he had received the permit of the Additional District Secretary to sell these trees and the sellers have to pay a charge of Rs. 37 rupees per tree.
Meanwhile, an official from the Environment Unit of the Cinnamons Garden police the sellers were asked to move away since they had not obtained a permit from the CMC for the sale of conifers opposite the CMC premises.
“We are just performing our duties. Our unit thrives to keep the city neat and clean and over the past two days it was observed that this was making a mess on the pavement. We told them of this and the need to obtain a permit for such sales and educated them on the method to be followed to obtain a permit” he said.
However the issue was resolved since the police decided not to move the sellers away considering the impossibility of getting a permit over the week end.
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