Drones, CCTV cameras to keep eye on vendors

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 4

In an extensive operation against vendors sitting in unauthorised spaces, eight drone and 75 video cameras will keep an eye on street vendors from Friday onwards.

Besides, CCTV cameras will specially be put up at the Sector 17 Plaza, which houses the maximum number of vendors. The Municipal Corporation will also set up control rooms in Sector 17, 19 and 22 to monitor the entire activity during the eviction drive, officials said. The civic body is hiring these electronic items from a private player.

Eleven teams, led by Executive Engineers and DSPs, along with enforcement officials and the police, will be on the job. Nearly 800 labourers along with four trucks will also be deputed to remove and seize goods from unauthorised vending areas and vendors. The teams will be on their toes from 6 am to 9 pm at 44 vending sites. They will have their lunch and dinner on the spot only, said the officials. Vendors resisting the drive may face an FIR.

“The cameras and control rooms will help monitor the vendors and ensure they do not return after being removed. These will also help us keep an eye on untoward incidents and miscreants, if any. Our endeavour is to ensure that no damage is done and the drive passes off peacefully,” said a senior officer involved in the arrangement.

Information boards will also be set up at vending sites where details regarding the sites and vendors will be displayed. It will help in identifying registered vendors. Officials will sit at the sites with tables and chairs to ensure proper working.

After a prolonged delay, all registered vendors were given a one-month notice to shift to their allotted sites by the corporation following the Punjab and Haryana High Court orders. The notice expires on December 5. From December 6, the MC will start evicting the vendors found at unauthorised sites.

There are around 650 registered vendors in Sector 17, which has been declared a no-vending zone. All street vendors, except essential services vendors, will be shifted to different sites, mainly to Sector 15 where about 850 spaces have been allocated.

In Sector 22 and Sector 19, there are about 50 sites each for vending. Other vendors from these sectors will be shifted to Sector 15. Vendors from Sector 1 to 6, a no-vending zone, will be shifted to Sector 7.

In 2016, a total of 9,356 vendors were registered by the MC for vending in different areas allotted to them in the city. However, only about 4,200 street vendors are to be given space as about 1,700 street vendors had their licence cancelled on account of non-payment. Vendors are allotted a 6’5 space at a monthly fee ranging from Rs 300 to Rs 2,000.

Those resisting drive may face FIR 

Eleven teams, led by Executive Engineers and DSPs, along with enforcement officials and the police, will be on the job. Nearly 800 labourers along with four trucks will also be deputed to remove and seize goods from unauthorised vending areas and vendors. The teams will be on their toes from 6 am to 9 pm at 44 vending sites. They will have their lunch and dinner on the spot only, said officials. Vendors resisting the drive may face an FIR.