Is Shillong city going the other cities way
where the goons and Dada’s come to
small road side vendors and forcibly eat various items without paying the money to the poor road side vendors.
It is evident that many of the road side vendors are now under the fear of the so called “Dadas” who come and eat anything at their will without thinking for the poor vendors.
One such incident was witnessed in Lady Hydari Park recently where road side vendors were busy selling their “Aloo Muri, Golgappa and Aloo Chana” and suddenly a group of boys came and asked for various delicacies.
The group of boys ate everything and went off without paying any amount to the vendors. “It is regular affair here as every time group of boys come here, eats everything and does not pay money,” said an eye witness.
The hearts of the vendors are brought to their mouth when they see a group of 14 boys who often comes to the area to enjoy the free meal.
“We can only say that it is a bad day for them when people come here and eat everything for free,” says a young boy who visits the area for enjoying the road side foods.
It is learnt that on some days they have to face a loss of Rs 300-400 though they do their business to earn a maximum of Rs 1500-2000 per day.
The situation is not only confined to Lady Hydari Park but even the commercial hub of Khyndailad where many road side vendors put up their stalls in the evening selling chaat, chow, egg rolls etc.
It was observed that here too many boys come and they pick up kachoris at their will without the fear of any body and they continue without paying the deserved amount to a poor vendor. Well, time is ripe for steps to check this. (By Aafaque Hussain)