Shillong, Aug 5: The Hynniewtrep Jail Road Street Vendors Association has urged the state government to allow hawkers to resume vending on Jail Road daily after 5 PM.
A delegation of the association met Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Urban Affairs Sniawbhalang Dhar and submitted the request on Tuesday.
The association president Clarissa Sohtun said they have asked the minister to direct the Shillong Municipal Board to permit evening vending on the stretch.
“During the meeting, we requested him to direct the Shillong Municipal Board to allow hawkers to carry on vending activities in Jail Road after 5 PM daily,” Sohtun told reporters.
She argued that since Jail Road functions mainly as a footpath and not a motorable road in the evenings, vending at that time would not cause public inconvenience.
“We explained to the Shillong Municipal Board that we will operate only after 5 PM because Jail Road is not a motorable road, it is only a footpath. Hence, hawkers do not pose any inconvenience to the public,” she said.
Sohtun added that vendors themselves have agreed to restrict timings to the evening.
“Among ourselves we have agreed to carry on with vending in Jail Road from 5 PM because we only operate in the evening after school and office hours. We do not want to cause inconvenience to the public,” she said.
The association also flagged concerns over the recent eviction drive.
“The government has already evacuated us from Jail Road since July 26, but none of the hawkers have received any notice from the SMB,” Sohtun said.
She further informed that the government has earmarked a new vending site at Polo, near Majestic, for the displaced hawkers.
