Sri Lanka, Dec. 29 -- Mayor Chandrasiri Wijenayake stated that pavement hawking within the Kandy Municipal Council (MC) limits will be banned from January 1.

He said the council made this decision to protect the hundreds of thousands of people who visit Kandy and to preserve the city's beauty.

The Mayor emphasised that the council reached this decision approximately six months ago. He noted that, considering the difficulties pavement hawkers would face from an immediate ban, they were given a grace period of over five months, until December 31, to relocate.

Previous municipal administrations attempted to ban pavement hawking in Kandy but were unsuccessful due to various political interventions.

Business owners at the Kandy Central Mar...