Street vendors protest against RMC's anti-encroachment bid

RANCHI: The vegetable vendors at

Lalpur

got into an argument with a

Ranchi Municipal Corporation

's enforcement team when the latter arrived at the market on Wednesday afternoon to remove the vendors.

Earlier this week, the

RMC

directed the vegetable vendors of Lalpur market to put up their stalls only between 6am and 10am in the morning in a bid to improve the traffic system. However, the vendors decided to continue putting up their stalls throughout the day and the RMC had to send in an enforcement team to remove them.

When the team reached the market, the street vendors who were lead by Ranchi Footpath Hawker (RFH)

Dukandar Sangh

greeted the team in anger and protested for their rights. The team had no option but had to leave without removing the vendors.

Anand Kumar, a vendor said, "This is outrageous. They cannot just come and decide when we have to put up our business. If they have a problem with us putting up our stalls here they should provide us another place before removing us."

Likewise, Munna, another vendor, said, "How can they say that we can just put up our shops between 6am to 10am. It's winters now and people do not step out of their houses before 8am. It takes us two hours to put up and take down the stalls. How much can we sell in just two hours?"

After the enforcement team left, a meeting was convened by RFH to discuss the welfare of footpath vendors.

Anita Das, a member of the association said, "We have been demanding for a proper town vending committee formation but RMC has failed to do so. None of the street vendors have been registered or given any identity cards." She added, "It is only in the hands of the town vending committee, which includes representation from the street vendors to decide whether the street vendors have to be removed or rehabilitated. How can government try to put a stop on our only livelihood?"

Meanwhile, deputy mayor

Sanjiv Vijayavargiya

said the decision was made for the improvement of the traffic system in the city and street vendors should co-operate. "We will talk to the street vendors to know what they want and come to a mutual agreement," he said.