Editorial
Footpath markets
Create space for hawkers
Small traders and hawkers occupying footpaths is a common sight in the city, and matters get worse during the month of Ramadan when even makeshift kitchen markets are set up on pavements, blocking the movement of pedestrians and causing traffic congestion.
The services rendered by the kitchen market are demand-driven, particularly for the low and middle income groups of people, and so they cannot be just wished away. However, there are other points to consider since these markets are set up illegally without the DCC's approval and set up just about anywhere which proves rather obstructive to ebb and flow of traffic.
Obviously, the law enforcers cannot allow traders to set up markets arbitrarily. Apart from traffic jam, a market can also be a source of public health concern. It can pollute a place and turn a residential area into a busy and filthy one.
Hawkers, however, pay for running such business and it is quite obvious that they cannot do so without bribing the law enforcers. Hawkers do not bother about the problems that they create for the pedestrians or vehicular traffic, once they can silence the law enforcers through regular payment of an amount of money, depending on the type and volume of the business.
So, the footpath shops and markets are far from being a legal business. But eviction drives tend to throw a large number of hawkers into uncertainty and they usually try to come back once the eviction drive is over. However, it does not offer a durable solution to the problems faced by people.
The solution perhaps lies in arranging everything in a more organised manner. Instead of allowing the hawkers to occupy a place day after day, the city bosses can earmark certain locations for such markets to operate on particular days of the week. The zoning system can be useful in this respect. Some of these might have been tried out but hardly ever on a sustained basis.
The DCC appears to be nothing more than a nonchalant onlooker when it comes to these pavement shops and markets. It should work on the basis of a plan that will have space for hawkers, while preventing illegal occupation of footpaths everywhere in the city.
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