Hawkers protest eviction drive in Shillong, demand fair relocation

Street vendors and hawkers on Monday refused to vacate from Khyndai Lad, a commercial hub here in Meghalaya, even Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) staffers went ahead with the eviction drive. The hawkers were seen engaged in a scuffle with SMB and police officials, while an emotionally charged woman vendor took out an axe and threatened to use it if authorities dared to take her wares.
The eviction drive, conducted in presence of magistrates and police, came after the state government had on June 21 notified the upper floor of the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) parking lot as a ‘vending zone’ and the remaining part of Khyndailad area as a ‘no vending zone’.
“We went to evict after giving notices as per law. We are just following the legal procedure. Notices to relocate to designated vending zones were published in local newspapers,” Chief Executive Officer of SMB, P.K. Boro said.
The hawkers under the banner of Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA), said they would vacate from the area only after the Provisional Town Vending Committee (PTVC) rectify major flaws in the relocation process.
One of the flaws, MGSPHSVA General Secretary, Shane Thabah, pointed out was the issuance of certificates of vending to people with shops while denying genuine hawkers their rights on frivolous grounds.
Moreover, he claimed that the SMB unilaterally identified the new vending zone without taking into confidence the PTVC, in which hawkers are also members. The new vending zone, at the MUDA parking lot, is not the ideal place for the vendors and customers, Thabah said. Angela Rangad, a leader from the activist group Thma U Rangli Juki, accused the SMB of attempting to create unrest through forceful evictions.
“We will not allow the SMB to forcefully evict the hawkers. We didn’t say we will not shift but we will shift once they rectify the flaws,” Rangad told reporters.
The PTVC was established in 2022 under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 to identify, register, and regulate street vendors.
The committee is mandated to also demarcate vending zones, issue vending certificates and resolve disputes. Likewise the committee conducted surveys across 22 localities in the state capital from December 2023 to January 2024 using GIS, photo-census, biometrics.
After that the committee compiled lists of legitimate vendors and issued certificates of vending to those eligible.
Following completion of formalities the PTVC met with hawkers’ representatives at least three times this year for the relocation.