BBMP missed out one lakh street vendors in 2017 survey

The BBMP has missed out nearly one lakh street vendors during a 2017 survey, Alternate Law Forum (ALF) said on Saturday.

During a workshop on the Street Vendors Act 2014 and Karnataka Rules, the forum highlighted several instances where the state has failed to implement the law effectively.

ALF said the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has overlooked street vendors working before and after their office timings. “A city like Bengaluru has nearly one-and-a-half lakh street vendors,” Lekha, a member of ALF, said. “The civic body conducted the survey at the wrong time. The survey was also undertaken during the festival season, when the street vendors may have gone to their native places.”

Despite registering 25,000 street vendors, the BBMP has certified and issued licences to only 14,000, who would vote in the elections to nominate members of the town vending committee.

The workshop discussed aspects of the act beneficial to the street vendors, something the common people and officials are not aware for the past five years since the act is in force.

Despite the act legalising street vending, vendors are targeted during the eviction drives. Representatives of various streams took part in the workshop.