12 street vendors held for 'blocking traffic'

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Tribune News Service

Panchkula, November 30

The police today arrested 12 street vendors for “blocking traffic” at the Sector 20 light point while they were protesting against the anti-encroachment drive carried out by the Panchkula Municipal Corporation.

50 protesters blocked traffic: cops

The police said over 50 protesters blocked the traffic at the Sector 20 light point around 11 am leading to inconvenience to commuters. The FIR registered on the complaint of a traffic cop claimed that the protesters threatened to damage vehicles, if they tried to pass through the blockage.

The arrested persons have been identified as Omkar Singh, Naveen Kamboj, Anmol Kamboj, Achint Chhabra, Gagandeep Singh, Rajendra Kumar, Gurpreet Singh, Ranjeet Kumar, Arvind, Abdul Jabbar, Baldev Raj and Gagandeep.

The police said over 50 protesters blocked the traffic at the Sector 20 light point around 11 am leading to inconvenience to commuters.

The FIR registered on the complaint of a traffic cop claimed that the protesters threatened to damage vehicles, if they tried to pass through the blockage.

A case was registered under Sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly) and 283 (causing danger, obstruction or, injury in any public way or line of navigation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Sector 20 police station.

Inspector Sushil Kumar, SHO of the Sector 20 police station, said commuters had to face inconvenience due to the protest. The blockage lasted for less than half an hour and traffic was restored subsequently.

As the Municipal Corporation and the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran have intensified anti-encroachment drive following “strict instructions” from Haryana Speaker and local MLA Gian Chand Gupta, street vendors have put up resistance against their eviction from public places before they were allotted sites at the dedicated vending zones.

The protesters said their names were included in the street vendor survey conducted by the civic body. Hence, they were eligible for the allocation of sites in vending zones.

“We are being harassed by the local authorities in the name of anti-encroachment drive. Until street vendors are allotted sites at the dedicated vending zones, they should be allowed to operate from public places to earn their livelihood as per the provisions of the Street Vendors Act,” said Ram Dev Singh, Footpath Worker Swarozgar Bachao Sangharsh Samiti. He alleged that the police lodged false FIR against the protesters.

“The police picked up the protesters saying they would arrange a meeting between vendors and civic body officials at the police station. Instead of listening to our grievances, an FIR was registered,” he said.

The street vendors have now decided to stage a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner office in Sector 1 against the police action. A memorandum will also be handed over to the DC in this regard.

Carts, goods of vendors confiscated

On Monday, the Panchkula Municipal Corporation and the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran had confiscated carts and goods of vendors in Sector 20 here to evict them from public places.