Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 8

The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has turned about 2,400 registered vendors defaulters for they have failed to deposit their monthly licence vending fee to the Municipal Corporation.

Fee relaxation sought

“We expect a fee relaxation for a few months as due to the lockdown we hardly made any earning. We are finding it difficult to make ends meet. MC assistance will encourage the registered vendors to stand up again and work.” Vendor at Sector 15

They are now facing the risk of losing their vending licence. There are about 10,000 street, essential and mobile vendors registered with the corporation.

During the first wave, the MC had exempted them from paying the fee for three months due to Covid and subsequent restrictions in the city. However, the corporation has not taken any such move to assist them during the second wave.

“So far, no such relief has been given. There are roughly 2,400 vendors, who have failed to pay their fee. We are soon going to issue them notices to clear their dues else they will lose their vending licence,” shared a senior MC official.

Some vendors have returned to their hometowns due to the lockdown restrictions and some have stopped operating from the sites allotted to them.

During a visit to the Sector 15 vending zone, the biggest vending site in the city, Chandigarh Tribune found that a few vendors were operating from there. “We keep sitting in the sun whole day, but hardly get customers these days. With no infrastructural support or fee relaxation coming from the MC, many vendors have stopped working here. Some have started doing other works and some are selling vegetables pedalling around the city,” said Jagat Shankar, a vendor at Sector 15.

“We expect a fee relaxation for a few months as due to the lockdown we hardly made any earning. We are finding it difficult to make ends meet. MC assistance will encourage the registered vendors to stand up again and work,” added another vendor.

The vendors have to pay monthly fee ranging from Rs500 to Rs2,000 depending upon the area and vending category.