Guwahati: Tensions escalated in Fancy Bazar on Wednesday as the ban on roadside vending on key stretches of the commercial hub continued, with street vendors protesting over being denied space to conduct business.Fancy Bazar’s HB Road, MS Road and SS Road were declared no vending zones by housing and urban affairs minister Kaushik Rai in Aug.Several hundred traders on Wednesday gathered to demand that the govt revoke the order or provide them with alternative vending spaces so that their livelihoods are not affected. The vendors alleged that they had not been given prior notice and that their carts had been seized without warning.“I have been running this shop for the last 40 years. I have been doing business on the footpath, using a small cart. From early morning, they come and forcibly remove our belongings, kick them away and throw them out. All of us shopkeepers are facing tremendous difficulties,” a protester said.“Since the 1st of this month, we have not been allowed to set up our shops anywhere. No one has been allowed to sit and do business. Where are we supposed to go now? What are we supposed to do?” the protester asked.Another vendor said, “I have been running a shop here on the footpath for a long time. We have also been living here and have set up our homes. Now, suddenly, the GMC has been saying that MS Road and HB Road have to be cleared. They have also put out notices in the newspapers.”“ There is the cloth market on MS Road, and there is the fruit market here, along with HB Road. The GMC has said that all these areas have to be cleared. But what is happening at present is that those two areas have not been cleared, while MS Road and HB Road have been cleared. We do not understand this. We do not understand why this is happening,” the vendor added.Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Mayor Mrigen Sarania acknowledged the vendors’ concerns and said the evictions had been carried out following complaints from local residents.“There is no option but to wait until the new vending zone survey is completed. It is a bit difficult to allocate space to them because there is no space in the city premise. Moreover, wherever we relocate them, they may not be able to conduct their business there,” Sarania said.The vendors later marched to the residence of newly elected Guwahati Central MLA Vijay Gupta. However, he was not available at the time.
