Street vendors’ survey hangs fire

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 8

To sell their products without any inconvenience, the street vendors are waiting endlessly for setting up of vending spaces in various areas of the four zones under the Municipal Corporation.

A survey of street vendors in city was launched on May 23, 2017, and the authorities concerned had announced to complete it in six months. However, it is yet to be completed even after seven months. After the completion of the survey, the MC will have to set up vending zones for identified vendors.

Under the Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Act 2014, the MC has to set up vending zones in various areas of the city. Ludhiana Rehri Phari Fedration president Tiger Singh said: “We want the MC authorities to speed up the process so that vending zones are set up at the earliest. In absence of vending zones, several street vendors routinely face harassment.”

“If vending zones are set up, vendors will be able to sell their products at designated place instead of encroaching upon roads,” he added.

An official of the Haryana Navyuvak Kala Sangam (HNKS), which is conducting the survey, said they had collected details of 21,000 vendors so far and the survey would be completed soon. The firm said they are also conducting survey in the internal areas of the city.

Harvinder Singh, MC Superintendent (headquarters), said the survey had been completed in two zones – C and D. “Around 50 per cent work has been done in the Zone A and nearly 70 per cent work has been completed in Zone B,” he said.

“The vendors will get identity cards soon. Once the survey is finished, we will start the process of setting up vending zones,” said MC Joint Commissioner Satwant Singh.