SMC to set up 27 new vending zones for street vendors

SURAT: There is a good news for street vendors and citizens as Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) will set up 27 new vegetable vending zones in different parts of the city in the coming months.
This will help street vendors get dedicated spaces with civic amenities, while citizens will get vegetable zones near their localities.
The new vending zones will come up in Rander, Limbayat, Althan, Katargam and Athwa zones of the SMC .
According to the SMC officials, at present, there are over 52 existing vending zones in the city, but in many areas, new vending zones are needed to support street vendors. In the absence of any dedicated space for vending, vegetable vendors are left with no option but to be on the streets for vending, causing traffic snarls in the city. The civic body plans to set up 27 new vending zones in different parts of the city with the cost of Rs 76 crore.
The new vending zones will accommodate 3,339 vendors in the city. These vending zones will be built under the central government’s National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM)’s Support to Urban Street Vendors (SUSV) programme.
“We will receive grants from the central government for these vending zones. We have named this project as ‘Ajivika’ (employment),’’ SMC commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani told TOI.
“The new vending zones will have CC Road, drainage system, water supply system, storm water drainage, public conveniences, recharge borewell and parking space. Moreover, they will have fire extinguishers, solar panels, organic waste converters and CCTVs,’’ Pani said.
Apart from creating new vending zones, the SMC will also renovate existing vending zones in old parts of the city. These vending zones are located in the central zone area which include Bhagal, Saiyadpara and Navsari Bazaar. According to an estimate, there are over 22,000 street vendors in the city.
“The NULM seeks to address the concerns of urban street vendors by facilitating access to suitable spaces for vending, institutional credit, improved skills and social security linkages,’’ said an official.
“Street vendors constitute an important segment at the bottom of the pyramid of the informal economy in cities. Street vending provides a source of self-employment, and acts as a measure of urban poverty alleviation. Street vending also has a prominent place in the urban supply chain, and provides inexpensive and convenient access to goods and services to all segments of the population including the poor,’’ Pani said.