SHILLONG: At a time when the East Khasi Hills District Administration has been conducting regular eviction drives against road side vendors at Police Bazar and other parts of the city, a group of hawkers in the city have demanded immediate implementation of the Vendors’ Act.
Speaking to media persons on Tuesday, the hawkers said that the Vendors’ Act should be implemented at the earliest to protect their right to livelihood.
Chirup Warpah, a vendor who runs his business at Police Bazar, said that the Meghalaya Street Vendors and Protection of Livelihood and Regulation (MSVPLR) Act, 2014, should be implemented to ensure their fundamental right to live and earn.
Alleging that the State Government was not taking any action to protect their cause, Warpah claimed that the recent eviction drive conducted by the Shillong Municipal Board was a violation of the Act as the government had not come up with proper marking of vending and non-vending zones.
Warpah also pointed out that the authorities had failed to evict those selling ‘alu muri’ in and around the city obstructing public spaces like at Lady Hydari Park, Governor’s House and other areas.
