Nehru Place traders to protest against hawkers

Vendors litter IT hub, DDA inaction makes matters worse: Protesters

In order to bring into focus the deteriorating civic amenities and security conditions at the city’s busiest commercial hub, Nehru Place traders would hold a token protest on Wednesday.

The two-hour ‘Nehru Place Bachao’ protest would be led by Nehru Place Improvement and Welfare Association (NIWA) and four associations dealing with export fabrics, computer hardware, peripherals and media distribution. The traders allege that due to encroachment by hawkers, the ground floor and the main plaza have been converted into a mess.

“The place is littered with garbage by unauthorised food hawkers. Moreover, the main plaza has become very congested which magnifies the security problem. Our repeated requests to DDA has fallen on deaf ears. By this token protest, we want to bring the focus of the authorities on our demands. If our demands are not met, the protest would get bigger in future,” said Anil K Sehgal, president of NIWA.

He  added that nearly 12,500 people engaged in 1,283 businesses and offices in Nehru Place have signed a plea to the Lt Governor of Delhi to save this burgeoning business hub. Courts in the past have allowed 114 hawkers to ply their trade and directed DDA to allot alternative place to them.

The traders allege that DDA has not allotted any alternate place to the affected hawkers till date even as the number of unregulated hawkers since then has grown to over 500.

“Many of these hawkers run food stalls that have no running water. The hygiene levels of food sold by them are low. By using gas cylinders and kerosene stoves in the main plaza, these vendors expose customers to fire hazards,” the traders alleged.