City Street Vendors demonstrate at MCC Take out a rally from Sector 20, Indefinite Dharna begins

Chandigarh, September 29, 2014: Hundreds of street vendors joined the rally and demonstration under the banners of The Footpath Cycles & Rehri Fadi Workers Union and National Association of the Street Vendors of India (NASVI) at the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh (MCC) office gate in Sector 17 here today. The union has started an indefinite dharna at the MCC gate until their demands are met.

Before taking out the procession, all the streets vendors gathered at the Matth Mandir Ground in Sector 20, from where they proceeded towards the MCC office. Several men and women were carrying placards with slogans like ‘Implement the Street Vendors Act’, ‘Stop exploitation of the Street Vendors’, and ‘FDI in Retail and Mall culture is against the Street Vendors’, etc.

The Union has been demanding license to every street vendor and freedom from the atrocities done to them by police, estate office, MCC and the health department of the UT Chandigarh. One of the main demands of the union is to implement the “Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014” in UT Chandigarh, which is already in practice in around 23 states. This Act of the Parliament of India was enacted to regulate street vendors in public areas and protect their rights.

Unfortunately, the street vendors or hawkers have received raw treatment from the State apparatus. In Chandigarh area too, they are a harassed lot and are constantly victimized by the officials of the local authorities, the police etc, who regularly target them for extra income and teat them with extreme contempt. 

Union president Ram Milan Gaur said, “It is high time to implement the Street Vendor Act in Chandigarh. The street vendors need a safe work environment, 1200 of whom are already registered with the union. We demand to issue work permits to these vendors and seek at least 8 booths for different types of vendors in every sector on the pattern of Verka booths.”

Rampal, general secretary, said, “As per the law, all the eligible street vendors must be brought under the umbrella of insurance, healthcare, electric and water supply. They should be given the benefit of easy loans, social security, education, training and skills enhancement programmes. Street trading being a fundamental right has to be made available to the citizens subject to Article 19 (6) of the Constitution.”

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