By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 25: The Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHVA) on Monday decided to temporarily suspend the protest of keeping the businesses of its members open for 24 hours while giving an ultimatum to the government to recall the relocation move.
The association made it amply clear that its members will not relocate their businesses.
“We will wait and see the government’s decision. We will resume our protest if there is no decision from the government in the next two to three days,” MGSPHVA president Biolin Pyrtuh said.
She asked Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh to clarify which hawkers had attended the meeting where the state government’s relocation proposal was agreed upon and the November 24 deadline for relocation was discussed.
“We would like to know the names of the 200 hawkers who had accepted the proposal as claimed by the Tourism Minister,” she said.
According to her, the hawkers never had any meeting, either with Lyngdoh or Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of Urban Affairs department Sniawbhalang Dhar, to discuss the issue of relocation.
Pyrtuh said during a meeting held on October 18, there was a proposal for relocation to the MUDA Shopping Complex.
“We rejected the proposal since we have made it very clear that the government should relocate all the hawkers and street vendors to one location. We will not accept any proposal to relocate us to different areas,” she said.
She further stated that only the Tourism Minister is aware of the proposal to relocate the hawkers by November 24. She added that the Shillong Municipal Board has no knowledge about it.
Pyrtuh did not rule out the hands of non-tribal businessmen, owning big businesses in Khyndai Lad, in pressuring the government to relocate the hawkers.
Calls made to Lyngdoh went unanswered.
The hawkers, protesting the government move, had kept their businesses open for 24 hours since Saturday and camped in Khyndai Lad in a bid to resist any attempt to evict or relocate them.