MCC provides a Hawking Place for Street Vendors
Mangaluru: Around 200 plus street vendors won’t have to fear about being evicted now and then by Mangaluru City Corporation, since they have been now provided with a designated hawking place- A long-pending demand of street vendors to have a designated hawking place in the city has been met with MCC making arrangements to accommodate them in about one acre land (behind Town Hall) near the service bus stand.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, MCC official Manjaiah Shetty said, ” We have now created hawking spots for nearly 210 street vendors and arrangements are being made to accommodate another 100 vendors in the same place. Apart from the ground being done with inter-lock tiles, drinking water facility has also been provided, and the vendors can use the nearby public toilet facility. Presently MCC has issued identity cards to 210 street vendors. The identity card holding vendors have begun registering with the corporation which was allotting them numbers and they will have to sit in the number marked in the area reserved. Only such vendors having an identity card and who have registered with the corporation will be accommodated in the hawking place”.
Street Vendors to be moved from here….
to the new place, here!
Shetty further said, ” MCC has given vendors a week’s time to shift from the State Bank of India bus terminus premises and the Central Market area to shift to this new location. The corporation will begin evicting the vendors from the roadside after a week. The corporation will not collect any fee from the vendors. MCC will have a 10-member team exclusively to evict street vendors in the city in the coming days as a separate facility for them now has been made. The civic body has invited bids for awarding the contract of evicting.”
In the meantime, Sunil Kumar Bajal, honorary president, Dakshina Kannada Street Vendors’ Association speaking to Team Mangalorean said, ” We are happy with the new hawking place provided by the MCC, but they need to issue identity cards to 350 more vendors. The place reserved now is ideal for vendors and centrally located. It would have been nice if MCC had built a roof at the place to enable the vendors to trade during monsoon season, and also protect them from the sun during hot summer days. Once the vendors occupy the new location it will be like a daily “santhe” in the city with consumables availing under one roof.”
Hawking is a menace in India – and it’s the bread and butter of all legal and illegal authorities such as the local mafia, the Municipality, and the Police. Thank God the Mangalore Municipality has finally given heed to people who can earn their daily bread in a civilized manner. However, grouping all the hawkers on to a vacant ground behind the Town Hall on a hurriedly executed interlocking tiles is not a novel idea. What about drainage, a sheltered roof to protect from sun and rain, and pavements for the public. What about garbage disposal, etc. All the amenities… Read more »