Street vendors seek facilities at vending zones before shifting

Jaswant Shetra

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 6

Even though the Jagraon Municipal Council has been asking the street vendors to shift their vends to the designated vending zone in Old Grain Market of the city, the latter are adamant on not doing so before they are not provided with facilities at the new venue.

The street vendors have asked the Municipal Council authorities to make proper arrangement at the Old Grain Market before they shift their vends there.

According to street vendors, the Municipal Council authorities have made no arrangement for them at the Old Grain Market and therefore it is not viable for them to shift their vends.

The office-bearers of the Rehri-Fari Association of Jagraon have asked the Municipal Council authorities to make proper arrangements at the Old Grain Market before they shift their vends there.

“We are ready to shift our vends to the Old Grain Market but the fact is that the authorities have made no arrangement at there. There is no arrangement of water, sheds and bathrooms. We appeal to the MC authorities to install sheds and make other necessary arrangements at the Old Grain Market before we shift our vends there,” said Jagraon Rehri Fari Association president Gurmit Singh.

“Our vegetables and fruits would get damaged if sheds are not installed at the Old Grain Market. Besides, there is also a fear of animals destroying our vegetables and fruits because a large number of stray animals remain there at the Old Grain Market,” said Daleep Kumar, a street vendor.

Some time ago, the Jagraon Municipal Council had also issued identity cards to the street vendors in their bid to shift them to the Old Grain Market.

The decision was aimed at smoothening the flow of traffic on city roads which remain congested due to the presence of vendors on roadsides.

But the association members said there were more than 12 hundred vendors in the city and it would be difficult to accommodate all of them at the Old Grain Market.

Jagraon Municipal Council executive officer Amrinder Singh said the civic body would soon install sheds at the market so that vendors could operate their business from there without any problem.