SHILLONG: The TUR along with hawkers and street vendors from across the city formed the Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association comprising people from various areas and communities in a meeting held on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the State and Central Acts governing the protection of livelihood of hawkers were analysed and issues pertaining to the “anti-people policies and actions of the Meghalaya government against street vendors” were discussed.
TUR and the Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association rejected the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, which according to them failed to protect the rights and interests of hawkers and vendors in the State.
“The Act does not have the bare minimum provisions as provided for in the Central Act, as for example, the system of determining the holding capacity in the city and the provisions for a transparent and participatory system of survey,” TUR said in a statement.
The meeting unanimously decided to reject the Town Vending Committee that the government claims it has formed as reported in the media on June 10 as “this was done without any consultation and participation of the hawkers’ community as mandated by law”.
“In fact, illegal evictions, confiscation of goods, brutality against street vendors and outright barring of hawkers from earning their livelihood continues even though the Meghalaya High Court has given a stay on such evictions,” TUR pointed out.
The meeting condemned these illegal actions.
The meeting also decided to hold a rally and submit a detailed memorandum and charter of demands to Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, including the urgent need to amend the state law to ensure protection of the constitutional rights of the hawkers and street vendors.
The meeting was also supported by the Nazareth Hospital Workers’ Union, the first ever union formed amongst the private hospitals of the state.
