Shillong, Jul 16: Vendors from Laitumkhrah all the way to Lumshatsngi (Bishnupur) have been given one month to vacate their spots and move to designated places in two hawker zones.
In a notice today, the CEO of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB), in the role of Chairperson of the Town Vending Committee (TVC), said that hawking zones at the SMB parking lot in Dhankheti and Brightwell Bungalow compound have been readied to receive hawkers with basic amenities ready for them.
The government had, earlier this year, already designated the entire stretch from Laitumkhrah, Dhankheti, Malki Point, Barik, Phan Nonglait Park (formerly Lady Hydari Park), Red Cross, Laban and Bishnupur as a no vending zone.
With the two alternative sites ready, all hawkers holding valid COVs (certificates of vending) have been directed to move to the designated zones by August 17. Those who do not comply will be subject to provisions of the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme 2023 and goods after this date may be confiscated.
This notice could well face stiff opposition from hawker groups. The Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA), for its part, has been arguing with the government over the relocation of hawkers from the Shillong Civil Hospital area and alleged denial of COVs to certain hawkers. It also recently complained that the TVC is still only provisional as it was not democratically constituted.
Speaking at a protest last week, the MGSPHSVA general secretary said that the delay in constituting the TVC indicates that something is happening behind the scenes and that the government has not taken the implementation of the Street Vendors Act seriously.
