Chandigarh
As street vendors refused to budge and did not relocate to the designated places assigned by the Municipal Corporation, as many as 1,000 policemen and 1,200 officials of the corporation will fortify the sites on Friday from 6 am onwards in view of the planned eviction. The Town Vending Committee at a meeting on Thursday approved Sector 15 as the new site for the vendors.
It is on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the eviction of the street vendors is being carried out. The High Court had directed the administration to relocate the illegal vendors on or before December 5.
Municipal Commissioner K K Yadav said that nine duty magistrates along with 11 teams will be there at the spot from 6 am.
It was decided that a helpline will also be started where general public can send photographs of unauthorised vending locations and appropriate legal action will be taken by the MC.
The deadline for vendors relocating to the designated place ended on Thursday. Drones have been arranged to carry out aerial surveillance during eviction.
Street vendors in ward 1 (sectors 1 to 6) and Sector 17 were served notices by the civic body but they have not shifted to the locations marked by the corporation. The corporation’s enforcement vehicles through public address system were making regular announcements telling the vendors to go to their registered places else action will be taken. However, the vendors did not go.
Talking to Chandigarh Newsline, Commissioner K K Yadav said, “The teams will be right there at 6 am. No vendor will be allowed to carry out vending in the no-vending zones.”
As a precautionary measure, videography will be done and fire brigades and ambulances will also be deployed at the sites during eviction.
As many as 11 teams have been constituted. Control rooms are being set up at night so that the vendors do not come back again after the drive.
There are around 600 vendors sitting in Sector 17, around 550 in Sector 22. These vendors have to be relocated to Sector 15 where 969 sites have been identified.
A meeting of the Town Vending Committee, Chandigarh, was held in the conference room of MC under the chairmanship of Municipal Commissioner K K Yadav.
The committee approved the report of sub-committee constituted to review the case of street vending zone, Sector 15, Chandigarh, wherein the sub-committee recommended retention of the demarcated vending zone already approved by the Administrator in Sector 15.
Street vendors of Sector 17 told Chandigarh Newsline that they will protest against the corporation on Friday. They alleged that the corporation was carrying out eviction against the orders.
All members of TVC were present during meeting
The committee also approved the agenda item regarding cancellation of registration licence of vendors who failed to clear their dues up to November 30, 2019. The committee accorded ex-post facto approval to re-draw of lots for the vending sites whose sites have been cancelled due to non-feasibility and Phase IV draw of lots held recently.
