Vendors oppose move, hold protest at MC office Sandeep Rana Chandigarh, October 21 After having adopted different yardsticks for vendors and shopkeepers on the amount of challan on encroachment, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, going against the old practice, is giving coupons only to shopkeepers for putting up temporary stalls. As a result, vendors today held a protest against the move at the MC office where special counters were set up. The protesters rued shopkeepers and vendors were allowed to set up temporary stalls every festive season, then why not this time? “When the Punjab and Haryana High Court has not passed any order to stop this old practice, then why the corporation is changing its position. These are three-four festival days when we earn something, but the corporation wants to stop that too. It must allow stalls to vendors also. Otherwise, we will take to the streets,” said a group of vendors standing near the counters set up at the MC. An official order of the corporation said the coupons for temporary stalls should be issued to shopkeepers and there was no mention of vendors. “The permission was not granted as there are already a large number of registered vendors in markets. Durther extending the facility to them will leave no space for people to walk,” said an official. The vendors met Mayor Rajesh Kalia in this regard, who later met the UT Adviser in this regard. The Mayor said they would refer the matter to the UT’s Senior Standing Counsel for legal opinion MC Commissioner KK Yadav said: “I just came to know about the issue. Stalls are given to them for three days. Time is still left, we will look into it.” Similarly, the corporation’s double standards in carrying out encroachment drives earlier stood exposed. Contrary to the bylaws for street vendors, the civic body has been challaning unregistered vendors with a whopping fine of Rs 10,000 and auctioning their seized goods. In the case of encroachments in corridors outside showrooms/shops in the city, the corporation is conveniently releasing their goods after a challan of meagre Rs 2,000. As a result, the practice of massive encroachment outside shops has only increased.

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