Inordinate delays in moving street vendors to designated sites in the summer capital of Srinagar have left many of them worried about their future.
In the lack of appropriate locations, sellers are compelled to set up shop on the sidewalks and other public places.
6,000 of Srinagar’s street sellers will be moved to a “smart vending zone” as part of the smart city initiative.
The old Mecca market was supposed to be updated as part of Srinagar’s Smart City project, but so yet, nothing has been done to shift the merchants to the Batamaloo district, Jahangir Chowk.
In interviews with Greater Kashmir, several street vendors voiced anxiety about the future of their operations in light of the impending migration.
They complained that it was difficult to make ends meet because of the severe rains this year and the already low client traffic.
The Smart City Limited’s General Manager of Planning, Anuj Malhotra, recently revealed to Greater Kashmir that the company has chosen several locations in which to move the street sellers in Batamaloo and Jahangir Chowk and to renovate the vendors’ market.
Work is now being done on a new market space for street sellers in the Batamaloo neighbourhood. The storefront at Jahangir Chowk is nearly ready for vendors. The smart city initiative also includes plans to upgrade the Mecca market. We are moving the street vendors to these designated areas. He reassured me that the visual appeal of these areas wouldn’t be overlooked.
According to him, a lesser percentage of the street sellers now operating in the Lal Chowk area would be relocated to the Mecca market. The decision to move street vendors is part of a larger effort to improve urban planning and provide better infrastructure for their operations.
The Smart City programme “aims to streamline the street vending system by providing designated areas, ensuring a more visually appealing environment for both vendors and visitors,” according to authorities.
