Street Vendors to start dharna on Sept 29 in Chandigarh

Chandigarh, September 28, 2014: The Footpath Cycles & Rehri Fadi Workers Union will take out a procession on September 29 at 11.30 AM from Sector 20 Math Mandir Ground to the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh (MCC) office in Sector 17, and will initiate an indefinite dharna untill their demands are met. The Union has been demanding license to street vendors and freedom from the atrocities done to them by police, estate office, MCC and the health department of the UT Chandigarh.

The Union leaders, at a meeting reiterated their demand of provision of license to every street vendors who have the identity cards given by the union, and their belongings should not be confiscated till the task of license is not fulfilled. 

Union President Ram Milan Gaur said, “Our main demand is to implement the “Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014” fully in UT Chandigarh. The police personnel harass the regular street vendors after getting bribes from new vendors. Many big companies, showrooms and factories are also encroaching the public places through their own vendors after bribing the police of the area.”

The meeting was attended by Shiv Kumar Shah, Irfan Ahmed, Indradev, Indrajeet, Ramesh Chand, iqbal, Lalkishan, Sadashiv Gupta, Mohanlal, Rama Shankar, Patandeen, Sanjay Mishra and Rajesh Singh, among various others.

Kumar Shah, General Secretary, said, “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 victimised by the officials of the local authorities, the police etc, who regularly target them for extra income and teat them with extreme contempt. 

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