Sectors that saw protests to have fewer vendors

CHANDIGARH: All the major city sectors where traders have been protesting will have four to eight times fewer vendors once Chandigarh municipal corporation is through with relocating them.


As per the plan prepared by the municipal corporation, 634 registered street vendors will be settled in eight sectors, Manimajra, Mauli Jagran and Dadumajra out of the 2,569 registered vendors there. Rest will be given spaces in other areas.




Sector 22 has 970 registered vendors, of which 117 will be allotted space in the sector and the remaining 853 will be resettled in other locations.

Vendors will affect our business: Association president

Only 85 vendors will be given spaces against the 348 registered ones in Sector 19 and the rest 263 will go elsewhere. Similar will be the case in and around a dozen key markets, including those of sectors 21, 32, 35, 40, 45, Manimajra, Mauli Jagran and Dadumajra.

The market associations and traders of these markets had held protests, either in collaboration with the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, an umbrella body of traders, or independently.

“Constant protests by traders of the key markets was quite surprising for us, as we had been making efforts to resettle minimum vendors in these areas. All the key markets of the city have a number of unregistered vendors who will not get space anywhere. Out of the registered ones, maximum will be resettled in other areas. Then why such hue and cry by traders? It seems political parties and internal politics of markets were at work to get benefit out of the issue,” said an officer of the MC.

Anil Vohra, president of Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, said, “We strongly feel vendors will affect our business. They sell duplicate stuff at much cheaper rates. Business of traders is already suffering due to multiple issues. We are paying various taxes to the authorities and vendors want all facilities without paying anything.”

Rampal, a representative of vendors in town vending committee, said, “We must get our right of livelihood in the right spirit of the Street Vendors Act. Many of our issues are not yet settled. We plan to launch an agitation soon.”

Sectors 1 to 6 and Sector 17 have been kept under the no-vending zone category. Sources in MC said as these areas fall under Heritage Grade-1, none of the vendors except the essential service providers and the mobile ones will be allowed there.