Ranchi: Hundreds of street vendors staged a massive protest on Tuesday against the ongoing anti-encroachment drive conducted by the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC).The friction between the civic body and local vendors intensified 10 days ago when the civic body cleared a weekly market spot at Morhabadi. Tensions escalated further following a notification by RMC regarding the reallotment of shops at the Atal Smriti Vendors Market.“If we are removed in the reallotment process, are we supposed to go back to the streets? We will be chased away from there as well in the name of anti-encroachment drive,” said Seema Devi, whose husband holds an allotment at the complex.Tuesday’s agitation drew support from the Communist Party of India (CPI), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Indian Hawkers Federation, among other organisations.Vikas Verma, state secretary of the Indian Hawkers Alliance (IHA), said, “Any eviction carried out without a survey, rehabilitation, statutory notice or the completion of the Town Vending Committee process is completely illegal. Instead of enforcing the law, the RMC is violating it. We will legally challenge every illegal action.”The vendors called for a complete halt to the enforcement drives until properly rehabilitated. Sandeep Verma of IHA said, “We demand that no street vendor be removed without prior rehabilitation. We urge the authorities to conduct a comprehensive survey of all eligible street vendors to issue them identity cards and vending certificates.”He also urged RMC to ensure the constitution and functioning of the Town Vending Committees (TVC).RMC commissioner Sushant Gaurav said that the RMC would not back down against regulatory violations. “The vendors want to continue setting up shops on the road. In the eye of law, every person is equal. If we favour them and give in to their demands under pressure, it will be an injustice to the law-abiding citizens,” he said.On Monday, RMC conducted an inspection across Morhabadi vending zone-2, which exposed significant regulatory noncompliance. It revealed that 33 allottees had illegally sublet their assigned spaces to third parties and another 10 had built unauthorised shutters, sheds or permanent structures. As per the rules, processes for issuing show-cause notices, cancelling allotments and taking other necessary statutory actions have commenced.
