Around 200 street vendors of Khyndai Lad area here have voluntarily registered themselves and staked claims to the spaces that the government is providing them under the relocation plan.
Informing this today, Urban Affairs Minister Paul Lyngdoh said that only genuine residents of Meghalaya will be entitled to this facility.
“They will have identified spaces under one roof to be provided by the MUDA and also facilities such as washroom, water etc which they are lacking at the moment,” Lyngdoh said.
On reports of few hawkers expressing ignorance about the relocation process, the minister said, “The entire process started with the active support of these vendor groups and whatever was required due diligence was done and they had voluntarily agreed to register themselves and stake claims to the spaces that the government is providing them.”
“As many as 200 of them will be rehabilitated so I don’t see any problem. One or two of them might have an issue but also bear in mind that Shillong badly needs a space for pedestrians,” he added.
Lyngdoh also said that all required details have been collected and only those vendors who are genuine residents of Meghalaya will be entitled to these facilities.
“So people who have no substantial claims will certainly crib about it,” he said.
“Please understand since Khyndai Lad is outside the purview of KHADC anybody is free to engage in any kind of trade without any licenses. That also makes it very vulnerable because a lot of crime takes place when unidentified persons conduct trade,” he added.
Lyngdoh further said, “All along we understand that when tourist visit the city, Khyndai Lad is one place on top of their destination and when you welcome them to the music capital of the country you would like to hear sounds of music and not voices of people haggling for rates on the streets.”
“I think musicians will sound better and that will elevate Shillong to a different level and people who are curious to know why Shillong is the music capital once they walk across Khyndai Lad they will readily find the answer,” he added.
He further said that over 200 hawkers have been identified to be rehabilitated by the government under the aegis of Urban Affairs Department and once done, the same process will be done in other areas of the city as well.
