Civic body to provide space for vendor rehabilitation

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Heritage stalls modelled on brick tile-roofed shops will be launched in the city as part of street vendor rehabilitation. An initial consensus on the implementation of the scheme was drawn in the town vending committee meeting held here on Monday.
The proposal was mooted by tourism department and backed by the representative of district administration.The civic body expressed willingness to be a partner in the scheme by providing available space within corporation limits and by shelling out a financial share from its fund allocated for street vendor programme called 'Suvidha'.
The corporation has already embarked on the process of preparing a detailed registry of street vendors in the city as a preparatory step in the wake of Union government passing the Street Vendors Bill. Rajya Sabha passed the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2014 in February, a year after Lok Sabha had passed the bill in September 2013.
"The idea is to reap financial gains and provide solid source of livelihood from rehabilitating street vendors. The shops at Fort have served as a model in effective conduct of street vending with their location and with their mode of business. Tourists could purchase eatables and sit inside the stalls and eat. Its a traditional concept and the civic body is planning a tie-up with tourism department," said Palayam Rajan, chairman, welfare standing committee.
The town vending committee has also decided to redesign the vending carts which were distributed to the beneficiaries in January. An umbrella-shaped fibre sheet will be laid as the roof which would shield the cart from sunlight and rain. The second phase of Suvidha is expected to be launched at RKV Road and Shangumugham. The vehicles dumped on the side of RKV Road have been removed.
"There is a slight confusion regarding the 75 beneficiaries chosen for the second phase. We hope to settle it soon," a project official said.
The committee, however, remained mum on the fate of book vendors who would be evicted as per the direction of district administration. They have not figured in the list of beneficiaries prepared by the city corporation so far.