GMC Asked To Implement Act, Protect Street Vendors In City

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Asom Songrami Mancha (ASM) demanded that the Street Vendors Act be implemented at the earliest.

A team of the mancha met with the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Comissioner Debashyar Malakar on Thursday and submitted a memorandum in view of their various demands.

The Assam government passed the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, on March 5, 2014. However, the Mancha complained that in spite of the Bill being passed more than five years ago, GMC has failed to implement the Act till date.

The prime focus of the Act is to identify the vending zones which has been stalled for more than five years now. As per the mancha, there are more than 40,000 street vendors in the city. As such, they urged Malakar to bring these vendors under the street vendors Act at the earliest.

The mancha further demanded that the registration of the 40 thousand street vendors in the city be done along with provision of health benefits including life insurance under GMC. They also urged that the areas which the street vendors have been performing business at present should not be declared as commercial spaces. This would brew trouble for the economically backward street vendor, the mancha reasoned.

They also appealed that GMC makes necessary provisions so that the street vendors are able to access aid from financial units.

The commissioner in reply to the manch affirmed that GMC will soon implement the act and begin work on the vending zones at the earliest.

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