Ranchi: Hundreds of street vendors took out a rally on Thursday with banners saying 'smart city nahi roti chahiye' (we don't want smart city, we want livelihood) and marched towards the chief minister's residence. However, when they were stopped by the police they sat near Raj Bhavan to protest.
After the direction of High Court, the footpath vendors who used to sit on the MG Road were removed in an anti-encroachment drive. Despite them being given the space to sit in Jaipal Singh Stadium, the vendors are unhappy and are demanding proper rehabilitation.
General secretary of Ranchi Footpath Dukandar Sangh, Anita Das said, "They are depriving us from our livelihood in the name of making Ranchi a smart city. All we want is proper vending zones to be created so that all the street vendors can be rehabilitated properly."
On being asked why they don't want to settle in the temporary arrangement at Jaipal Singh Stadium, Mohd Saeed, a vendor said, "We need a place which is on the roadside so that passers by can see what we are selling. If we sit out of site we will lose many customers."
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