Celebrating Vendors Day
On 20, January, we decided it was a good day to celebrate vendors day with the vendors with whom we are engaged. Since we were unable to get the hall free, we decided to hold the meeting in the oldest wholesale vegetable market of Patna, Haryali market, Anta Ghat. The place has been identified as a vending zone but unfortunately due to the improper designing of the space, the space remains unutilized. In spite of repeated reminders to the Commissioner of the Patna Municipal Corporation, nothing much has happened.
The Chief Guest of the day was retired IAS officer and chairman of the committee of the Shelter for Urban Homeless, Mr. Girish Shankar. His presence was encouraging to the vendors who gathered in large numbers. In His address he termed as “sewa pradataars” – service providers. It is they who serve us by selling their goods at a reasonable rate and we can easily avail of them. He said though the street vendors Act 2014 has been promulgated, it still remains to be implemented by state governments and the central government. The journey has begun, but we still have a long way to go. Many of the vendors present, placed their problems before the honorable chief Guest. He listened to their stories with great empathy and responded to them encouraging them not to give up but to continue this struggle.
Addressing the vendors, Dorothy pointed out the need to understand the ‘street vendors act 2014’ and to ensure that each vendor gets his certificate and license. This will enable them to avail of the mudra loan. An appeal was also made to the vendors to keep their area clean and have a dustbin. The responsibility to keep the city clean is everybody’s. Since we are on the road, we need to ensure that we do not obstruct the traffic as well. The meeting concluded with snacks for the everybody and tea.