Street vendors in Bhubaneswar cry for rehabilitation

BHUBANESWAR: Bhaskar Pradhan, 31, has been selling fruits at

Rajmahal Square

for the last 10 years to fend for his family. But he being evicted abruptly has come to him as a shock.

Same is the plight of Bidyadhar Sahoo, 43, who had been selling fruits on a pull cart at the same place. Now he has been rendered jobless with police evicting him from his usual earning source.

Like the duo, there are hundreds of

street vendors

in the city facing the similar situation every month. People like Bhaskar are the worst affected as they don't have other means to eke out a living.

However, the National Hawker Federation's state unit has come to the rescue of the evicted street vendors. Members of the federation on Friday urged governor S C Jamir to help the vendors. They alleged that the state government is not implementing the centre's street vendors (protection of livelihood and regulation of street vending) act 2014. "The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) evicts street vendors without rehabilitating them," said the federation state president Jayant Kumar Das.

Das said the civic body doesn't obey three major points of the act. "The act says that no street vendor shall be evicted till the survey is complete and the certificate of vending is issued. But that is not followed in letter and spirit," he added.

He said a

Town Vending committee

(TVC) is formed to look after the issues related to vendors. "The act says the TVC should be formed wherein 40 per cent members will constitute the street vendors themselves. But TVC in the city has 24 members with only four from vendors," he added.

Das also alleged that the TVC doesn't hold a meeting regularly by violating the norm of the act. "During survey, the BMC has left many vendors without including their names. It is very unfortunate," he added.

City mayor Anant Narayan Jena said the vendors, who obstruct the traffic and encroach upon the drains, are evicted from the spot. "But we are trying to rehabilitate the vendors as per law," he added.

He said the affected vendors can submit their grievances to the BMC. "The process for survey of vendors is on. We will consider their cases," he added.
Jena said he will consider the complaint about the TVC. "We will empower the TVC to look after the interest of vendors of the city," he added.

The BMC has enumerated a total 21,153 street vendors in the city. "Though the last date of applying for identity card for vendors is completed, we are still accepting the grievances of hawkers and street vendors," he added.