Do These Street Vendors Have ‘Trade Licences’, Respected Mayor?

Do These Street Vendors Have ‘Trade Licences’, Respected Mayor?

Mangaluru: Okay, I agree that Hawkers and Vendors have similar meaning and they are often swapped. Though Hawking is a street trade done by moving from one place to another while Vending is another street trade that is done by occupying a space on pavements i.e. temporary shelters. Also, I learnt that Hawking (Vending) means the act of selling of goods for a living. It is one of the oldest occupation in India and by virtue of Article 19(1)(g), every citizen has a right to carry on any lawful trade or business. It is this right vested in the citizens that the hawkers exercise while engaging themselves in the trade.

Just wondering if this Govt affiliated KFDC Mobile Canteen near Kadri Park has licence to operate?

The right to carry on trade is a fundamental right of the vendors and hawkers but it doesn’t mean that street trading is a right as such without any restrictions. Hawkers cannot be permitted to carry on their trade on every road in the city. Hawking is not permitted in those areas where the road is not wide enough to accommodate traffic. Drafted to protect their rights, the law states that no vendor can be evicted from designated vending zones. So it looks like these street vendors are taking advantage of the said law, and setting up their street-side business wherever they feel like. Bah humbug!

But why even allow these street vendors to carry on the trade, while other legal businesses are running their trade with proper trade licence. Lately, our beloved Mayor Kavitha Sanil has been making headline news for her action and cracking down on businesses operating without a Trade Licence. But why has she turned a blind eye against these illegal street vendors who are making big-time business without having any kind of licence? It’s not fair, that you nail some of the businesses in the City for their carelessness in getting a trade licence, and on the other hand freely allowing others to run their sales by the roadside or on a busy highway. Just imagine allowing these vendors to do their business on a busy NH 17/66 highway, where the customers park their vehicles by the side of the highway and bargain for deals. What kind of Highway Safety is this?

Also just look at the stretch on Kadri Park Road, the ample parking space which could have been used by motorists to park their vehicles have been literally taken away by a bunch of illegal street vendors, who don’t even pay a Rupee as any rent or tax whatsoever. And among these illegal street vendors and Mobile Vendors on this Kadri Park stretch of road is a mobile canteen owned by Karnataka Fisheries and Development Corporation (KFDC) running their business just like other vendors. I am not sure whether KFDG has the licence to sell food out of this mobile, if they do, I am sorry. If not, all I can say is that even the Govt affiliated firm is operating illegally without a trade licence. How nice? Govt makes laws, and Govt itself disobeys them?

Another thing is that don’t expect that these street vendors are all poor-many of them are well to do. Imagine having over lakhs worth of merchandise and selling on the roadside without any taxes, or other expenses. Talking to one vendor who has set up a business on NH 17/66 highway, a little further from Padua School, the person who operates his rad side business hails from Gujarat- and he has three legal shops-two in Gujarath, and one in Delhi- his one daughter is doing her Medicine, while his son just got into engineering college-he has two mega houses (he showed me the pics-they were like palaces) and many other assets. How can you call this person poor, and doing his business and making easy money without any overhead costs? Has our district authorities looked into this situation, where these out of town illegal dealers are hurting the local business owners?

If you look at all these street side vendors and mobile canteens mushrooming daily in the City, it seems like neither MCC nor district authorities are bothered. If such is the case, why legal businesses should apply for the trade licence. If street vendors can run their show without trade licence, then why not allow others too? It’s a mess out there on every nook and corner of the city, with mobile canteens occupying most of the space. First they will start with two chairs, then comes a small dining table- and eventually, more chairs and tables are added- and a street side Mobile canteen will look like a full-fledged restaurant? Has our MCC officials noticed it or simply ignoring them even if they have seen these mobile canteens.

So in the interest of the citizens and motorists looking for a better parking spot and also without any discrimination against other local businesses on the Trade Licence issues, our respected Mayor should act quickly and vacate all these illegal street vendors/mobile canteens (including KFDC Mobile canteen, which is making brisk business without a licence, I suppose), so that Mangaluru looks “Swachh” and “Green”? Anticipating quick action, thank You in advance for rectifying the issue.