Relocated roadside vendors worry about losses

RANCHI: Several roadside vendors in Ranchi, who were forced to remove their stalls as they came in the way of President Droupadi Murmu’s scheduled travel routes, have fanned out to the other parts of the city to eke out their livings.
Prior to Murmu’s visit on Wednesday, the Ranchi Municipal Corporation conducted anti-encroachment drives in six zones.
The routes Birsa Munda Airport to Argora chowk, Birsa chowk to Jharkhand High Court, Rajendra chowk to Sada Bahar chowk, Argora to Harmu bypass, Raj Bhavan to Sarjana Chowk, and Sahjanand to Kadru Bridge were cleared out of roadside encroachments to ensure smooth movement of Murmu’s convoy.
Ice cream seller Pranav Urnau who was forced to move away, said, “During the movement, my ice creams melted. I suffered losses and now at the new location I am struggling to get customers.”
Sheela Sahu, who sells fruit from a cart at Argora Chowk, said, “For us, even three days of not working has its consequences. I cannot move around the town due to the scorching heat and need a cool place to park my cart or else the fruits would rot. Hence, I am being forced to sit at home for the next two days.”
Parmod Hasda, a fruit juice seller at Ratu Road, said, "Due to anti-encroachment drive, we were compelled to relocate, resulting in a loss of a day's earning. To make up for the losses, I have set up a stall next to my home. However, since the morning, I have only earned 200 whereas along the main road I used to earn 1,500." The corporation said more than 200 roadside vendors have been removed during the drive.