Intervention of the Guatapurí River and Eviction of Street Vendors in Valledupar Announced

Valledupar authorities announced that in the next two weeks the Guatapurí River and the Malecón will intervene, so they will evict the street vendors who are located there.

“In 15 days the river is going to intervene and all street vendors will have to leave there, because some works are going to be done on the boardwalk to beautify the sector. Some characterizations have already been made of the vendors and some are going to stay there, but in due form,” said the municipal secretary, Arturo Calderón.

The official also warned that the operations to recover public space will be carried out jointly with the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Cesar, Corpocesar and the National Police, in order to evict street vendors.

He also added that “we articulate information with Corpocesar and Police to make decisions before and during the river intervention to give order to the tents, but without running over or violating people's rights.”

This intervention of the public space, as announced by the Secretary of Municipal Government, Arturo Calderón Rivadeneira, is given to respond to recent complaints by environmentalists about the events that attack the Guatapurí river, in the Hurtado spa in Valledupar.

Where a cement terrace was built on the Guatapurí riverbed, which is being used, according to information from El Tiempo, by merchants who place chairs, tables and tents there.

“The terrace was built on the right and left banks of the flow by unscrupulous people, presumably associated with trade, to place the carp,” explained biologist Wilson Pérez Ascanio, who warned that the impact of the invasion of the tributary causes serious damage to all the species of fish that exist in this biogeographic region, because, there is also evidence that another earthen terrace has been erected near the suspension bridge.

According to the Valledupar environmental watch consulted by the newspaper, these constructions “are subtracting natural space from the river and preventing the permeabilization of water. This damages the dynamics of the tributary and can cause stress to the fish because they have no space to swim and find their food,” explained Luis Maestre, environmental watchman for Valledupar.

This situation was reported to the environmental authorities in November last year, when Maestre issued a request to the mayor's office, Corpocesar and supervisory bodies to deal with these alleged violations.

Likewise, according to information from local media, environmentalists and defenders of the Guatapurí River had also reported that forest fires and tree cuts were recorded on March 26 and 27, located in the vicinity of the CAI Police of this sector.

'Yiyo' Martínez, an environmentalist, released a video in which he told that street vendors apparently live behind the police station, and that they have set up tents and improvised toilets. However, not satisfied with this, they cut a part of an ancient rubber tree that is in the area.

It is worth remembering that on April 11, the Office of Public Space announced that more than 50% of public space in the city has been intervened thanks to educational, operational sessions, soil inspection, joint tables and urban control.

According to Secretary Calderón, these works have been carried out in areas of the Hurtado Spa, Avenidas Simon Bolivar and Foundadores; Calle 44, Transport Terminal, Downtown, La Nevada, Villa Yaneth, October 12, ARA Stores, Airport, Torres de Nando Marín, Popular Gallery, Comuna 5, Don Alberto Park, El Viajero Park, Algarrobillo, Cortijos, Caracolí and other sectors.

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