Facing eviction under the anti encroachment drive, more than 100 out of a total of around 5000 street vendors of Dhanbad took out a rally on the occasion of International Human Rights Day demanding comprehensive rehabilitation and other benefits under the National Urban Livelihood Mission.
The protesters who started from the golf ground, at around 10.30 am, marched through Randhir Verma Chowk and Luby Circular Road before reaching the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation office where they staged a demonstration protesting against the eviction drives and also submitted a memorandum of Satyendra Kumar, Dhanbad demanding acceleration of survey work of vendors and issuance of QR Code bearing Smart Identity card as well QR Card bearing Smart Certificate in order to put an end to their harassment at the hands of police.
Talking to The Telegraph Online, Sneham Sinha, district coordinator of the National Association of Street Vendors of India said, “More than five years after the first survey of street vendors carried out by the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation after which 3269 street vendors were provided identity cards, none has been rehabilitated in any of the vending zone of Dhanbad as out of 12 vending zones planned, only one at Baniahir in Jharia has been developed but no vendor has been allotted space there."
“The street vendors are facing eviction on various pretexts including the anti encroachment drive and also road broadening work very frequently,” said Sinha adding that they also demand intensive awareness drive among street vendors about the benefits of shifting to vending zones."
Sanjeev Singh, another street vendor of Station Road said, “We also demand clearing of hurdles with regard to construction of new vending zones to expedite the construction of new vending zones. After the completion of the survey of street vendors and allotment of identity cards, we also demand the forwarding of list of street vendors by Dhanbad Municipal Corporation to the respective police stations of the area so that their harassment at the hands of police can be prevented."
