Bid to de-congest Anantnag town by Municipal Committee fails

Street vendors fill pockets of officers, claims Chairman

Saahil Suhail

Early Times Report

Anantnag, Nov 13, 2018: An attempt by Municipal Committee Anantnag to de-congest the town for smooth movement of traffic by shifting ‘illegal vendors’ to some identified locations on Tuesday failed as street vendors held protests and resisted the move.

Street vendors assembled in old bus-stand and resorted to sloganeering after Municipal Officials didn’t allow them to set their moveable stalls. They said raised slogans against the authorities and newly elected Chairman Hilal Ahmad Shah, who is also general secretary of Congress.

“They (Municipal Officials) have an agenda to hit poor not poverty. We have been allotted these spaces by then DC Baseer Ahmad Khan, who is now Divisional Commissioner Kashmir,” agitated protesters said.

They threatened to intensify protests if the administration and Municipal authorities didn’t stop harassing them.

Police and officers of civil administration later pacified the protesters and allowed them to start their normal business.

Chairman Anantnag Municipal Council, Hilal Ahmad Shah told Early Times that they had held meetings with 400 vendors and all of them had agreed to shift to New-Bypass.

“I met 400 vendors in town hall Anantnag, we discussed all the terms and conditions and they agreed to shift but all of sudden they started protesting in the morning,” he said.

Shah said that he had planned to set-up four different markets-fruit market, vegetable market, and readymade market-on new bypass at Ashajipora to give street vendors a dignified way for earning.

“We are not going to stop. Our effort to de-congest the Anantnag town and to give these street vendors dignity and dignified way for earning will continue. It pains me to see them begging for space and most of them are used to bribe officers of different agencies,” he said.

Shah said that those officers and employees, whose pockets these street vendors fill every day, sabotaged our move.

People, ambulance drivers particularly felt relived today for some time as these street vendors most of them belong to others districts encroach our roads and create problem for people and hinder the smooth movement of traffic and importantly ambulances carrying patients.