Nagpur: The Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday rebuked the Nagpur police for eating street food from vendors free of cost.
The Minister said that he often goes to have corn at roadside stalls near VNIT where vendors always complain that city police personnel harass them and eat stuff free of cost. Gadkari said this at a self-funding festival for vendors under the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana and Rashtra Upajivika Abhiyan at Suresh Bhat auditorium on Friday.
At the event by NMC’s Social Development Department, Gadkari said, “Clean vegetable and mutton markets should be established. I’m tired of telling this to most Mayors. Sadly, no efforts were made despite Nagpur Municipal Corporation and Nagpur Improvement Trust having many open spaces across the city which can be developed as markets. Most of the places are being encroached upon. These places should be developed for hawkers so that they too can live a life with self-respect.”
Gadkari also informed the audience about the Central Government’s Svanidhi (self-funding) scheme. Under this scheme, the NMC-NIT should try to regularize all vendors across the city, he said.
MLAs Krishna Khopde, Mohan Mate, Vikas Kumbhare, Municipal Commissioner Radhakrishnan B, Additional Commissioner Deepak Kumar Meena and Social Welfare Officer Ranjana Lade were present. A cultural programme was also conducted during the event.
