Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation plans mobile vending units for flexibility in traffic movement

BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to stop creating permanent vending zones and instead focus on mobile vending units, which, the civic body feels will give them the flexibility to shift vendors from one location to another in case of traffic problems on a particular stretch.
Currently, the city has 34 vending zones, having a total of 1500 kiosks, including smart kiosks along Janpath. Pramod Prusty, deputy commissioner (markets) said a standard operating procedure (SOP) will be made before introducing vending on wheels. Bhubaneswar has vending zones with vehicles being used by vendors to set up eateries and sell other consumables.
It is popular along some stretches. To help vending on wheels, some stretches will be identified exclusively for the purpose and interested vendors will have to obtain permission from the BMC. It is not that everybody who wishes to set up mobile vending unit will be allowed, Prusty said, adding, the SOP will make it clear as to how to take the project forward.
In August, the BMC had planned to create 14 more vending zones in the city so as to organise the spaces where vendors carry out their businesses. The general administration department has provided land for the vending zone that can accommodate more than 200 kiosks.
The vending zones will be located at the markets in Unit-1, Unit-III and Unit-IV, Gandamunda, BJB Nagar, Siripur, VSS Nagar, Nageswar Tangi and Kochilei markets. The engineering wing of the BMC will make the plan and layout. Based on the design of the vending zone, the estimated cost will be decided. The places where the vending zones will be located will be close to existing markets.
Along smart Janpath, the kiosks have been made in such a way as to retain the aesthetic beauty of the stretch. The kiosks are cyclone-resistant and has been tested during Fani as some kiosks, which had been constructed, withstood the impact of 180 kmph windspeed. None of the roofs got blown away. The vending zones have all basic facilities like lighting, sewerage system and water supply, a BMC source said.