27 yrs on, 13 street vendors removed from Sector 19 Chandigarh

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 10

After about 16-year-long battle in various courts, 13 street vendors, who have been operating near the dhobi ghat in Sector 19 for 27 years, had to finally leave the place today.

A team of the MC enforcement wing, headed by Inspector Sunil Dutt, reached Sector 19 with the notices following which the vendors had to shut their business. The vendors lamented that now, they had nowhere to go during the ongoing Covid crisis as they had not even got themselves registered with the Municipal Corporation during its vendors’ survey.

It means they will not be able to operate from any other vending site in the city.

The notice by MC Commissioner KK Yadav stated that following the directions of the Supreme Court on July 6, 2015, the MC had in February this year issued notices to the vendors, but they did not vacate the area they had occupied illegally. They could not even show any claim, added the notice. “The Street Vendors Act was implemented in 2016 and they did not get themselves registered,” shared an official.

“Due to Covid-19, the process got delayed. We issued them a notice three days ago, but they did not move out. We then went to the area and asked them to take away their goods. For about 16 years, they have been fighting cases in lower, sessions and high court and finally, the apex court. They did not get any relief,” said an MC official.

Rocky, one of the vendors, said, “We are the Sadar Market fire victims. Some of us got booths from the UT Administration, but we didn’t get any relief. So, we started operating from here in 1993.”