Shillong: Street vendors at Khyndailad in Shillong’s Police Bazar area on Monday voiced strong opposition to the Shillong Municipal Board’s eviction drive, demanding a mutually agreeable solution before any relocation takes place. The Meghalaya & Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association has opposed the forceful eviction of hawkers without a consensus on relocation plans. Civic body staff, accompanied by officials from the East Khasi Hills district administration and police personnel, launched an eviction drive targeting street hawkers without certificates of vending. Goods belonging to the vendors occupying public spaces were seized and loaded into trucks, even as some hawkers attempted to retrieve them. Over the past week, the civic body had issued public announcements asking unauthorised vendors to vacate the area, which has officially been declared a no-vending zone. Hawkers with valid certificates have been directed to shift to designated vending spaces, including the govt-owned MUDA commercial complex in Police Bazar, by July 22. Meanwhile, the civic body has also directed shop owners and commercial establishments at Khyndailad not to display goods outside their premises. A June 29 notification issued by the civic body chief executive officer PK Boro warned that non-compliance would result in the removal of such goods by the municipal board and could lead to suspension or revocation of business licences. “It was found that many shops and commercial establishments are displaying goods outside their premises. This is a blatant encroachment on public paths and roads, causing inconvenience to the public and violating conditions of the Business License under Shillong Municipal By-Law 136 framed under the Meghalaya Municipal Act, 1973 (as amended),” the notice stated.
