Create awareness on street vendors rights: ex-CBI JD

Tirupati: Extending support to street vendors' fight for their legitimate rights, former CBI Joint Director Vasagiri Venkata Lakshmirarayana emphasised on conducting training classes to them to know their rights and acts and also advised them to fight unitedly. He blamed the successive governments for not implementing the Supreme Court guidelines delivered in 2014 where it mentioned about facilities to be provided by the authorities to street vendors. AP Veedhi Vikrayadarula Kramika Federation (APVVKF) organised a state level meeting at CPI office in Tirupati on Tuesday to create awareness on Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Act.

Lakshminarayana, who attended as chief guest, said many people from rural areas turning as street vendors in the urban areas due to lack of basic knowledge about their rights, which is the prime cause for harassing by the police and civic authorities.

He demanded the government to set up a welfare board as directed in the Act to protect their rights, particularly to make them free from the harassment.

High Court advocate Kalyan Dileep Sunkara demanded the government to provide the street vendors with ID cards apart from providing basic facilities and said the state government has miserably failed in implementing Act for the welfare of street vendors.

He said street vendors were back bone to the government who plays vital role in selling essential goods and fruits directly to the customers at their doorsteps.

AITUC state president Ravulapalli Ravindranath said only united fight can bail out street vendors from their problems and exhorted on setting up of study groups for awareness. APVVKF president CH Sivakumar said they will continue relentless fight on behalf of street vendors till they get justice.