Khyndailad was tense today after officials and a team of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) carried out an eviction drive of unauthorised hawkers and street vendors.
In the morning the SMB checked if the vendors had licences and those that did not were asked to pack up and avoid setting up their shops.
The drive started at 9am but the hawkers were well prepared. Many refused to move until the police assisted the SMB team in the eviction process. Magistrates and a fire engine were also deployed. A few hawkers lashed out at the officials, leading to verbal spats. Some of the female hawkers were also seen weeping after they were asked to pack up their belongings, while others rushed to remove their goods fearing that they would be seized by the authorities. Still others held their ground and rejoiced once the government officials appeared to back down. However, Khyndailad remained somewhat quieter, with several hawkers staying away and many established shops keeping their shutters down in anticipation of further trouble.
At least one hawker declared that no licence was required as this is “our land”, while others taunted officials for not being able to remove the residents of Them Ïewmawlong several years after the relocation process began.
According to the Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA) leader Angela Rangad, the manner in which the eviction drive was held was illegal and the hawkers will not be forced out. Rangad said that the hawkers and street vendors will shift only after the flaws are rectified by the provisional town vending committee (PTVC).
The eviction drive came after a June 21 order wherein the state government has set aside the upper level of the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) parking lot at Khyndailad as a designated zone for hawkers and street vendors and the first 200 are set to take up their slots there.
