Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to establish a new hawking zone near Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) Trauma Centre. This new area will accommodate 77 hawkers displaced from Medical College Square, which was recently scrapped as a hawking zone.
The decision was finalised during a Town Vending Committee (TVC) meeting chaired by NMC Commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari, with Additional Municipal Commissioner Ajay Charthankar, hawkers’ representative Abdul Razzaq Qureshi, and NGO representative Kaustav Chatterjee in attendance.
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Thursday 03 Oct. 2024
The meeting addressed key issues related to hawker rehabilitation and the growing demand for street vendor licences. Initially, NMC proposed Baidyanath Square and Jagnade Square as potential relocation sites for hawkers from Medical College Square. However, opposition from vendors led to the compromise of establishing the new zone near GMCH Trauma Centre.
During the meeting, Chaudhari assured that the demand for issuing licences to registered hawkers would be taken up in the next TVC meeting. Additionally, the identification of new hawking zones across the city would be prioritised to streamline the process and provide street vendors with regulated spaces to operate.
Currently, Nagpur has 43 designated hawking zones, housing around 6,000 registered hawkers. Of these, 3,149 participated in TVC’s election process. However, the actual number of street vendors has surged, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic. Senior NMC officials and traffic police have acknowledged the challenges posed by the increased hawker population, which has significantly affected traffic management.
While the establishment of the new GMCH Trauma Centre hawking zone is a step forward in addressing the needs of displaced vendors, the rising number of hawkers continues to be a major concern. Their presence on city streets, particularly in high-traffic areas, has worsened congestion and created a complex challenge for authorities.
With the festive season approaching, the streets of Nagpur have seen a sharp rise in hawkers, leading to major disruptions in traffic flow. Despite regulations like the “left-side diktat” for hawkers on Sitabuldi Main Road, many vendors have occupied the right side, designated for parking, further exacerbating traffic issues. Encroachments like these have led to gridlock and inconvenience for daily commuters.
As Nagpur continues to navigate these challenges, collaboration between the NMC, traffic authorities, and hawker representatives will be crucial. The upcoming TVC meetings and plans to designate additional hawking zones will play an important role in finding sustainable solutions to this growing issue.
