Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee expressed strong disapproval towards the BJP government in West Bengal for its actions against street vendors and hawkers. On International Hawkers Day, Banerjee condemned the government’s eviction drives, stating that they had subjected hawkers to hardships by demolishing their stalls. She emphasized the importance of recognizing the vital role played by street vendors, hawkers, and small traders in local economies.
Banerjee highlighted the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, aimed at safeguarding hawkers from arbitrary evictions. She cited Supreme Court rulings acknowledging the hawkers’ constitutional right to livelihood. Banerjee advocated for integrating hawkers into urban systems through organized municipal markets rather than displacing them. She stressed the need to strike a balance between supporting the grassroots economy and urban planning.
Addressing the significance of street vendors, hawkers, and small traders in the informal sector, Banerjee underscored their role in connecting daily necessities with the production system and providing affordable goods to the public. She criticized abrupt evictions that violate the hawkers’ right to livelihood, calling for a democratic approach, such as the Town Vending Committee, to manage their rights and ensure their voices are heard in urban planning.
