Street vendors up in arms

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 4

Street vendors today held a protest in the parking lot of the Sadar market, Sector 19, here against the plan of the Municipal Corporation to shift them to their allotted sites after Thursday.

The vendors, who have been vending from the Sadar market parking here since long, held a silent protest with a few vendors from Sector 15, 17, 19, 22, 37 and Mani Majra.

“There are several irregularities in the formation of the Town Vending Committee. No genuine vendors are the members in the committee. As per the norms, vendors should have been included in the committee following a proper election by appointing a returning officer. Our voice has not been heard in the committee. Those vendors are only puppets in the hands of officers,” alleged Neeraj, one of the protesting vendors at Sector 19.

“We have submitted a written complaint with UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore, MP Kirron Kher and UT SSP Nilambari Jagdale about the irregularities. We have appealed to investigate this matter seriously,” said vendors.

According to them, if no action was taken on their complaint, then they will intensify their protest and gherao the MC office.

Most vendors had been working here for generations. Due to expensive living in Chandigarh, most of them had shifted their place of residence to the area adjacent to the city. Still they had to come to Chandigarh to earn livelihood. However, they had been denied licence due to address proof, they said.