Tensions flared in Shillong’s Khyndailad on Monday morning as hawkers and street vendors refused to comply with an eviction drive carried out by the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB), demanding that serious flaws in the relocation process be corrected before any move.
The Shillong Municipal Board (SMB), backed by city authorities, began removing vendors without valid Certificates of Vending (COVs) as part of a larger urban initiative to decongest the city centre and convert Khyndailad into a pedestrian-friendly musical hub. According to officials, vendors holding valid COVs have been granted time until July 22 to relocate to designated vending zones.
The eviction operation, conducted in the presence of magistrates and police, followed a government notification issued on June 21 declaring the upper floor of the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) complex as a designated ‘vending zone’ and the rest of Khyndailad as a ‘no vending zone’. However, vendors under the banner of the Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA) have strongly opposed the move, stating they will not vacate until the Provisional Town Vending Committee (PTVC) addresses unresolved issues.
Angela Rangad, leader of Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR), who has extended support to the MGSPHSVA, condemned the eviction attempt. “We will not allow the SMB to forcefully evict the hawkers. We will shift only when we are made of the plan,” she told reporters.
Rangad alleged that the MUDA basement, identified for hawking, was constructed without PTVC approval and is unfit for business. “They (SMB) were supposed to place the plan before the PTVC. This is because we are the legitimate members of the TVC and we are the ones to decide how to move forward (the proposed relocation of hawkers),” she asserted.
Calling the designated site unsafe for both vendors and customers, Rangad reiterated the hawkers’ willingness to cooperate, but only under fair conditions. “We don’t say we will not shift but we will shift based on conditions,” she said.
Highlighting discrepancies in the licensing process, she pointed to significant flaws in the digital survey conducted by the authorities. “From the beginning, we say let us conduct the insitu survey to know who are eligible hawkers and street vendors, conduct claims and objection to see whether this survey really include genuine hawkers or if there are any who are taking advantage of this and the process has reach to the stage of issuing licenses. As PTVC members, we had pointed out that we know very well that there are people who owned big shops, but they were issued with hawkers’ licenses,” Rangad said.
“Therefore, we demand that such flaws need to be rectified before going ahead with the matter because you will create more problems if you are issuing licenses to non-deserving people,” she added.
Criticising the credibility of the digital survey, Rangad cited specific cases. “A woman, who has been sitting here for more than 30 years, is not getting a license. This shows that the digital survey has failed. The digital survey did not have photos of the hawkers, whose names appeared in the list,” she alleged.
