- News>
- India
Woman vendors to press for passage of Street Vendors Bill
Women vendors are set to sit on an indefinite strike from Monday to press for the passage of the Street Vendors Bill in Parliament.
New Delhi: Women vendors are set to sit on an indefinite strike from Monday to press for the passage of the Street Vendors Bill in Parliament.
Women under the umbrella of Self Employed Women`s Association (SEWA) have announced that they would sit on an indefinite dharna to press for the passage of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012, which is pending in the Rajya Sabha.
"Preservation of historical markets like the Sunday Book Bazaar and emergence of Ladies Market, one with only female vendors like the Mahila Haat opposite Delite Cinema, would be possible if law safeguarding Street Vendors is implemented," Sanjay Kumar, Managing Director, SEWA, said.
The Street Vendors Bill, provisions for features that would not only provide vendors with a working license but also bring "natural markets" under protection.
The bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha last year and was brought to the Rajya Sabha this year, also provides for constitution of Town Vending Committees for implementing the provisions of the bill across the country.
Vendors account that lack of licence and a grievance redressal system subjects them to harassment by police and local authorities, which could be solved with a proper law in place. "We get a Rs 15 single day pass to vend there. But `police-wale` harass us. They demand money despite us having a pass. Unable to pay them, they start throwing our items and even drag us out," said Asha, a vendor at Daryaganj`s Sunday Book Bazaar.
"This would not happen if we get a licence and there is a law to regulate our work," she adds.
Sundari Ben and Rajvati, both vendors, say "insecurity of livelihood always remains" for street vendors and hope that the government would soon pass the Bill to help them lead a secure life.
"Lack of licence or legal proof subjects vendors to harassment. There is need for a law to overcome this problem, a law that would enable millions of vendors across the country to live a dignified life," Sanjay Kumar said.
SEWA, which has been working for the rights of street vendors since 1998, has since long been pitching for a law to protect street vendors from harassment and for securing a dignified livelihood for them.
"Local authorities are responsible for the identification of areas for markets and for providing street vendors with licence to work. But in absence of a law, the vendors are subjected to harassment by these authorities and police," Kumar said.
"Street vendors constitute two to three per cent of a city`s population. Overall there are around three crore vendors in the country," Kumar said citing a study conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) about hawkers and street vendors.
Crux of the problem, as suggested in the study by TISS published in 2012, is that in most cities hawking is regarded as an illegal activity. There are municipal and police laws that impose restrictions on the trade and in most cases these laws do not directly prohibit hawking as a profession. They impose restrictions on the use of urban space for street vending.
Citing example of the plight of vendors in Delhi, Kumar said the Municipal Corporation (MCD) is not bothered about them and claimed that MCD exploits vendors.
"Although they (MCD) are the governing agencies, they are least bothered about the vendors. They don`t want to give free space for market and licence to vendors deliberately," said Kumar.
"Since past 15 years of my working I have not seen the MCD giving licence to any vendor except for a handful mobile vendors few years ago," he said.
"Preservation of historical markets like the Sunday Book Bazaar and emergence of Ladies Market, one with only female vendors like the Mahila Haat opposite Delite Cinema, would be possible if law safeguarding Street Vendors is implemented," Sanjay Kumar, Managing Director, SEWA, said.
The Street Vendors Bill, provisions for features that would not only provide vendors with a working license but also bring "natural markets" under protection.
The bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha last year and was brought to the Rajya Sabha this year, also provides for constitution of Town Vending Committees for implementing the provisions of the bill across the country.
Vendors account that lack of licence and a grievance redressal system subjects them to harassment by police and local authorities, which could be solved with a proper law in place. "We get a Rs 15 single day pass to vend there. But `police-wale` harass us. They demand money despite us having a pass. Unable to pay them, they start throwing our items and even drag us out," said Asha, a vendor at Daryaganj`s Sunday Book Bazaar.
"This would not happen if we get a licence and there is a law to regulate our work," she adds.
Sundari Ben and Rajvati, both vendors, say "insecurity of livelihood always remains" for street vendors and hope that the government would soon pass the Bill to help them lead a secure life.
"Lack of licence or legal proof subjects vendors to harassment. There is need for a law to overcome this problem, a law that would enable millions of vendors across the country to live a dignified life," Sanjay Kumar said.
SEWA, which has been working for the rights of street vendors since 1998, has since long been pitching for a law to protect street vendors from harassment and for securing a dignified livelihood for them.
"Local authorities are responsible for the identification of areas for markets and for providing street vendors with licence to work. But in absence of a law, the vendors are subjected to harassment by these authorities and police," Kumar said.
"Street vendors constitute two to three per cent of a city`s population. Overall there are around three crore vendors in the country," Kumar said citing a study conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) about hawkers and street vendors.
Crux of the problem, as suggested in the study by TISS published in 2012, is that in most cities hawking is regarded as an illegal activity. There are municipal and police laws that impose restrictions on the trade and in most cases these laws do not directly prohibit hawking as a profession. They impose restrictions on the use of urban space for street vending.
Citing example of the plight of vendors in Delhi, Kumar said the Municipal Corporation (MCD) is not bothered about them and claimed that MCD exploits vendors.
"Although they (MCD) are the governing agencies, they are least bothered about the vendors. They don`t want to give free space for market and licence to vendors deliberately," said Kumar.
"Since past 15 years of my working I have not seen the MCD giving licence to any vendor except for a handful mobile vendors few years ago," he said.