Shillong, Jul 26: A day after the Meghalaya government relocated street vendors from the congested Khyndailad area in Shillong to a notified vending zone in a nearby complex, a prominent hawkers association on Friday opposed the move, alleging it to be illegal and arbitrary.
The Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA) also claimed that the action taken on July 23 resulted in the displacement of hundreds of genuine vendors, disrupting livelihoods and violating their rights under the law.
It questioned how the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) shifted only around 300 vendors to the new zones at the MUDA Parking Lot and opposite a state-run bank when an initial survey had identified “nearly 1,400 hawkers across the city”.
The association alleged that the exclusion was arbitrary and many of those left out were long-standing vendors who depend solely on street vending for their survival.
It also raised concerns over the “lack” of infrastructure in the new vending zones, citing “poor ventilation, absence of toilets, inadequate lighting, and lack of water and drainage facilities”.
The association demanded valid Certificates of Vending (CoVs) be issued to all eligible vendors before any relocation, and that no hawker be shifted more than once.
Meanwhile, a Meghalaya Urban Development Agency (MUDA) official said, “We are doing our job under the framework of the Constitution to ensure a balance of the requirement to vacate public places and their rights to livelihood. Those who feel otherwise may approach appellate authorities.”(PTI)
