Govt urged to put off street vendor polls

The Federation of Bengaluru District Street Vendors' Associations has urged the government to postpone the elections to the town vending committee scheduled for December 21, citing several procedural issues.

Although nominations have been filed in the seven zones where the polls are scheduled, the federation said some of the conditions laid down by the authorities excluded hundreds of street vendors from the electoral process.

The polls are being held as per the rules laid down by the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, giving representation to the street vendors.

Noting that the elections became a reality only after the street vendors went to court, the federation said holding the polls just two weeks after the announcement had denied time to the unorganised sector.

The federation also opposed the Rs 2,000 fee for submitting the nomination papers, noting that many street vendors were too poor to afford it. It claimed that in Mahadevapura and Rajarajeswari Nagar zones of the BBMP, many vendors were warned against contesting the polls.