Dearth of vending zones, not vendors

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 25

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and the UT Administration are yet to declare vending zones in the city and vendors are making the most of it. There number has increased, with new faces being spotted in every nook and corner After the completion of the survey, around 40-50 new vendors have started operating from the Sector 22 market. A majority of them are youngsters carrying a bag containing electronic items like pen drives. 

As per information, while the new vendors have come from other states, these youngsters are locals and are selling items for wholesale suppliers. 

A youth said they earned anything between Rs 400 and Rs 600. “A large number of people purchase pen drives from us,” he said. 

Initially, around 170 vendors of Sector 22 had approached the court, but during the MC’s survey, the number of vendors in Sector 22 had reached 1,800. 

Recently, MC councillors had proposed that Sectors 22 and 19 also be declared vending zones, seeking  more vends in different sectors, including tourist places. 

The civic body is in the process of issuing licences to street vendors under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. An agency commissioned by the MC in a survey had identified 21,621 vendors. The MC had proposed two categories of vendors – service providers and non-service providers. 

The vendors’ fee was proposed to vary area-wise and the type of service they provided. A total of 36 sectors with 40 sites for 10,198 street vendors have been cleared by the UT Department of Planning. The issue was to get a nod from the MC, but was deferred.

Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, Mayor Asha Jaswal could not be contacted.