Shillong, the Scotland of the East has been one of the busiest cities in recent years. However, with fewer facilities available for the hawkers in the city; the hawkers have started putting up small shops on the footpaths’ making it congested for the pedestrians.
The hawkers have no other option but to open up shopsin roadsides or footpaths because of the lack of facilities or proper places to open up shops.
It is difficult for the vehicles to move at a normal speed since the footpaths are close to the road and there are also a lot of pedestrians walking on the road, since it is difficult to walk on the footpaths.
The hawkers have no other place to go, leading to opening up of shops wherever they can. In the years to come, the number of street hawkers will be outnumbered with the present amount of hawkers.
(Contributed by Mariana Lalchhandami Sharma, St. Anthony’s College, Mass Media Department)
