Pandra street vendors to get market space

Pioneer News Service
Ranchi

Street vendors, who have been making their living by setting up roadside shops in the Pandara area of the capital Ranchi for years, may soon get the gift of a permanent and well-organized market. Taking initiative in this direction, on Sunday, Minister of State for Defense cum Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth and Ranchi Mayor Roshni Khalkho jointly inspected the possible sites. During this, possibilities of developing a permanent market for street vendors were discussed with officials and public representatives.

According to the information, a large number of street vendors set up roadside shops every day from OTC Ground to Pandara Friends Colony. However, due to not having a permanent place, they have to face encroachment removal drives, traffic problems and other administrative problems every day. To solve this problem, this issue was raised prominently by MP Sanjay Seth in the recently held Ranchi Municipal Corporation Council meeting. He suggested developing a permanent and organized space for street vendors, so that their livelihood can be secured.

In this sequence, on Sunday, MP Sanjay Seth and Mayor Roshni Khalkho inspected the vacant government land located in front of Pandara police station and the vacant space located on the right side across Pandara bridge. During this, both the public representatives discussed with the officials the utility of the site, access road and necessary infrastructure facilities.

On this occasion, Minister of State for Defense Sanjay Seth said that street vendors are an important part of the city’s economy and they should get the opportunity to get employment in a respectable environment. He said that concrete initiatives will be taken in this direction by coordinating with the Municipal Corporation and related departments, so that permanent space can be provided to the vendors.

Mayor Roshni Khalkho said that the priority of the Municipal Corporation is to provide organized space to the street vendors, so that the traffic system of the city can be improved and the livelihood of small businessmen will also be protected. He said that the proposed site will be developed and proper arrangements for shops will be made there, so that the vendors can conduct their business without any inconvenience.

The plan will not only develop a market for street vendors, but will also take care of the convenience of daily laborers. There is also a plan to develop sheds for workers and basic facilities like clean drinking water and toilets at the proposed site. This will benefit both small businessmen and daily wage workers.

Ward 32 councilor Sanjay Kumar, Ward 33 councilor Pushpa Toppo, Ward 34 councilor Ajit Kachhap, Ashok Munda, Subesh Pandey, Devan Honda, Sushil Kumar and Manoj Chaudhary were also present during the inspection. Public representatives expressed the hope that by finalizing the proposal soon, permanent market facilities will be provided to the street vendors of Pandara area, so that their livelihood can become more secure.