Govt to complete process of rehabilitating over 200 hawkers at Khyndailad by next month: Paul

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaOctober 29, 2024

The process of rehabilitating over 200 hawkers and street vendors will be completed by next year.

Informing this on Tuesday, tourism minister Paul Lyngdoh said this plan of action was presented through a powerpoint presentation during a recent meeting chaired by the deputy chief minister in-charge urban affairs Sniawbhalang Dhar.

“It includes details of all applicants because our first area of concentration is the Khyndai Lad stretch. There are about 200 plus applicants and now steps are on to rehabilitate them and some of the spaces available with the department (of urban affairs) have already been indicated and earmarked. So we should be in a position to complete the entire exercise within the month of November this year,” he told reporters.

According to Lyngdoh, three spaces at Khyndai Lad area have been identified for the rehabilitation of the street vendors which include buildings of the MTC and the MUDA.

“All of those whose applications have been duly scrutinized and who qualify all the parameters set by the Town Vending Committee in collaboration with Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) will find space in the designated areas,” he stated.

Lyngdoh’s statement also came a day after the Meghalaya High Court had directed the Principal Secretary in-charge Urban Affairs department to demarcate administrative areas in relation to traffic movement and constitute a committee to specify areas where street vending is permitted by law.

The tourism minister said the exercise is going to be the first move that will also address the problem of encroachment that affects the traffic movement in the city.

 “It is going to be the first move in that direction but a positive move because as you can see these vendors, now the government already has a policy of rehabilitating them and giving the proper space with water facilities and other amenities. So the problem that the city is faced with and which the department of urban affairs is trying to address is that there should be equal respect for the rights of all users of public space and uses of public space include transporters, drivers, pedestrians and these vendors therefore should not in any way infringed on the rights of motorist and pedestrians, which is what is happening right now,” he stated.

On asked, Lyngdoh said, “Yes, we have demarcated first starting with Khyndai lad, in the other the other areas like Laitumkhrah now, new market complex is being inaugurated shortly, so we will go in that manner but the first priority is the heart of the city which is Khyndai Lad.”

“As I said, give us time till the end of November where we will be able to rehabilitate and once that is done, the area will be declared as a pedestrian zone with no facilities and space for hawking,” he stated while assuring “We are just few days before the end of October and I assured that within November 24, these people, the vendors, those who qualify and have been identified for the spaces they will be relocated and the rest will simply not be allowed to carry on with their trade on that area.”

To another question relating to livelihood activities, Lyngdoh said, “See whether we do it or we don’t do it, people are always critical of the government. So that really doesn’t matter, what matters most is that we would first try to address the concerns of the vast majority of people.”