According
to SEWA's own census, there are 1,00,000 street vendors in Ahmedabad
City. They sell fruit, vegetables, flowers, fish, clothes, vessels,
toys, footwear, eatables and many other items for daily and household
use. Most vendors have been selling in the city's markets and
streets for generations. They form a sizable percentage of the
urban informal sector.
Their
business begins at dawn, when they buy their wares from merchants
in the wholesale markets. They usually borrow from the merchants
at very high interest rates - 10 % per day on capital advanced.
On
ont hand, women are not given licences, and 4 by 6 feet vending
space is not ear-marked for them as ordered by the Gujarat High
Court. On the other hand, the local authorities - municipality
and traffic police - say that vendors are illegal because they
have a precarious position, with no legal leg to stand on. Hence,
vendors are demanding:
-
Legal
status and policies concerning them;
-
Licenses
and identity cards; and
-
Vending
space in the city, especially in the main markets.
Organising
Vendors in 1999
No |
Activities |
Women |
Rs. |
1 |
Resumed
vending through union action |
849 |
24356450 |
2 |
New
vending sites |
11 |
10480 |
3 |
Vendors’
complaints |
585 |
41000 |
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