New Delhi, Oct 21 (KNN) Unhappy with municipalities, police and other bodies' treatment, target vendors, nearly 2000 street vendors on Monday held a demonstration at the Civic Centre in Delhi to voice against the atrocities of the later under the leadership of National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI). 

The vendors have waited long to secure a meeting with the Municipal Authorities to discuss their issues with regard to the implementation of the Street Vendors Act, 2014.  

The vendors are disappointed in the way the Authority has handled the affairs when it comes to implementation of the provisions of the Act.

According to vendors, the Town Vending Committees are barely functional and fail to carry out the duties entrusted upon it- be it the conducting of the survey –issuing certificates of vending or demarcating vending and non-vending zones. This is just one half of the duties that the TVC is responsible for. The vendors feel that the long haul needs to come to an end now.

''After protesting for hours, vendors were finally allowed to go in and speak to the South Delhi Municipal Commissioner, Gyanesh Bharti who gave some sort of assurance that they will discuss on the course to be adopted from now on with respect to the street vendors in accordance with the provisions of the Act. He said that the issue of the street vendors will be listed in tomorrow’s meeting with the Commissioners to ponder over the situation of the vendors in the capital city,'' NASVI said in a press release.

The North Delhi Municipal Commissioner, Varsha Joshi, she remained absent in spite of being privy to the fact that the vendors are holding a demonstration in hopes of engaging in a dialogue with her.

''Dismissing the vendors completely, this is the treatment they receive from Public Authorities who work for ensuring the welfare of the masses,'' NASVI alleged.

However, the vendors were promised a meeting with the Commissioner after Diwali and the Deputy Commissioner, Vidita Reddy met with the delegation.

The vendors, however, are not backing down anytime soon. They are going to hold a demonstration again on the November 13th in the event of no prompt action being taken by the concerned authorities soon.

Vendors have following demands like, the Municipal Commissioner should give a written order to his DC (who is the chairman of TVC) that the vendors should not be removed and their goods should not be seized unless the survey and location are identified under Section 3(3) without the decision of the TVC.

The TVC must settle the cases referred by the Delhi High Court of the aggrieved vendors within one month and the Municipal Commissioners must be instructing the DCs in writing that the harassment by Municipal Inspectors should stop immediately.

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