By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 2: The plan of the state government to relocate the hawkers of Laitumkhrah main road to Veronica Lane faced its first hurdle as the residents and stakeholders of the educational institutes in the vicinity of the area have opposed the move.
Earlier, Cabinet Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh had mooted the idea of making Laitumkhrah main road a hawker-free zone as the plan was to shift the registered hawkers to the footpath of Veronica Lane.
However, expressing opposition to the move, a resident and one of the stakeholders of the educational institute in Veronica Lane, Monalisa Wankhar lamented that the minister and the Dorbar Shnong Laitumkhrah Pyllun have bypassed the residents of the area before arriving at this decision.
Wankhar informed that the footpath in Veronica Lane is approximately 2-4 ft wide and 800-900 ft long and it is closely situated near three special educational institutes which include Bethany Society, Mary Rice Center, and Jyoti Shroat School.
Stating that Veronica Lane is not only home to three special educational institutes but also home to Bansara Eye Care, adding that the stretch is also daily used by the student community.
She further pointed out that the footpath in Veronica Lane was constructed on top of a drain while witnessing floods during the monsoon season.
Making it clear that they don’t oppose the hawkers, she added that things should be made clear that activities of the hawkers should not affect the free movement of pedestrians.
The resident also plans to meet Lyngdoh to seek clarification on the matter.
