Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 2: Street vendors from north Kashmir’s Sopore today staged a protest against the district administration, alleging that they have been unjustly denied the opportunity to earn a livelihood while calling for the establishment of a designated operating space to alleviate their struggles.
A group of aggrieved vendors converged at the Press Enclave, wielding placards and chanting slogans in support of their demands. Their frustration was palpable as they voiced their grievances, citing what they perceived as a lack of concern from the authorities, which has left them grappling with severe challenges.
Mehraj-ud-Din Dar, a veteran street vendor, spoke passionately about the dire circumstances they currently find themselves in. “We are 500 in number, all of us suffering, along with our families. My father has been conducting business in the same spot for the past 50 years, and I have followed in his footsteps for the last two decades,” he lamented.
He emphasized the hardships they are enduring, stating, “We are unable to even pay our children’s school fees. We constantly feel pushed around, and for the last 20 days, we’ve been unable to work. Our families are in distress, and we can’t even afford our children’s education.”
The street vendors assert that they previously had established shops at the location from which they were forcibly removed. These shops, they said, were dismantled with the promise of providing them with an alternative, designated operating space.
Ghulam Muhammad, a 50-year-old street vendor, shared his frustration, recounting their bureaucratic struggles. “I’ve been operating there for half a century. We’ve approached the ADC, who directs us to the SHO, and then to the Tehsildar. We are left to fend for ourselves, going from one authority to another,” he stated.
He underscored their financial challenges, remarking, “We’ve taken loans, but we are unable to repay them. Do you think I can engage in any other form of labour? We were even granted licenses to operate, but now we’ve been forcibly removed from our livelihoods.”
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