Street vendors resurface at Khwairamband
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 16, 2013:
The Government's seemingly ill-advised policy that herding away street vendors from the main commercial areas would restore market decorum has backfired as women vendors have started to resurface at different corners of the historic Khwairamband Keithel.
While eviction of street vendors from the market area and Nagamapal road stretch some years back seemed to have had the desired result absence of follow-up measures, particularly ensuring basic market facility at the temporary site near Lamphelpat Super Market Complex, has been compelling many bread-winners to trade their wares alongside the congested street of Nagamapal as well as pavements Ima Keithels.
Even though it has become a familiar sight of police personnel asking street vendors to vacate the streets and pavements and sometimes resorting to force to disperse non-compliant street vendors or scatter their goods, it is also a common sight that these women vendors resurface once the cops are out of sight.
While the chaotic scenes prevail on a daily basis at the Ima keithels and Nagamapal road, women street vendors who are prepared to sustain economic activities at the Lamphelpat temporary site are of the view that provision of basic facilities, such as construction of market sheds, would transform the area into a flourishing market place.
A handful of the small-time women vendors, currently sustaining trade activities at Lamphelpat are also of the view that approach roads to the temporary market site should be developed or maintained in a proper manner to enable the customers have access to this place in a convenient way.
Pointing out that lack of basic facility coupled with bad condition of approach roads have resulted in the number of customers' number dwindling with each passing day compared to the initial months of eviction from the main market places, one Konsam Bemmi of Langthabal said that many of her colleagues are prepared to tolerate offensive words of the police eviction teams rather than risk their family deprived of two square meals a day.
In addition to toiling for the entire day awaiting customers from the nearby residential pockets, women vendors have to stay put at the temporary market place as a caretaker (chowkidar) provided by the Government to look after the goods at night has been relocated, she said.
Along with maintaining vigil at night despite unfriendly environment, the women vendors also shoulder responsibility for removing the wastes as authority concerned do not provide cleaning personnel, Bemmi maintained.
She also made a fervent appeal to the Government of Manipur to take relevant measures for developing a market place at the present temporary site so as to solve the problem of street vendors occupying the busy roads in and around the main commercial place.