Street selling: An unresolved issue

Shillong: Vendors occupying roadsides and footpaths, especially on the Motphran-Police Bazaar stretch, are creating difficulty for pedestrians for quite a long time now.
Despite approaching the authorities with an intention of resolving the issue in the past, the problem remains unresolved till date. In November 2016, the East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner in compliance with the Meghalaya High Court’s order, the district administration and other authorities made sure that the streets were made hawker-free. The DC had ordered hawkers to vacate the areas and that they would face legal action if they failed to do so. However, some of the actions taken against vendors seemed inhuman to many when the street vendors were pulled away by the authorities. Their goods were confiscated.
The Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 unfortunately, was considered to be ‘anti-hawker’ as it seemed to have wreaked havoc on the lives of hawkers and their families.
Except for the Motphran-Police Bazaar road, large number of street vendors is also found at Police Bazaar point and Laitumkhrah, among other localities in the city.
(Contributed by Deidarisha Lyngdoh, St. Anthony’s College)