Solidarity Message To members of the Nepal Street Vendors Unioun(NEST)

To members of the Nepal Street Vendors Union (NEST)

We, StreetNet Regional Focal Point are disturbed and saddened to hear of your ongoing struggle at Kathmandu, Nepal.

As fellow affiliates we would like to offer our solidarity to members of the NEST as you fight for your right to take legitimate strike action, agitation and to have the opportunity to negotiate with your Government and local municipal body over issues of Street Vendor’s Right.

The reported refusal of the government to come to the table to provide alternative solutions which could address street vendor’s pleas is unacceptable as is the alleged intimidation of and threats of snatching livelihood of striking street vendors of Nepal.

We stand beside you in this dispute and will be ready to take all lawful action should an outcome which is deemed reasonable to both sides not be reached in the near future.

Long live the Street Vendor’s

In solidarity,

Anurag Shanker

RFP Asia

Coordinator

NASVI – StreetNet Regional Focal Point Asia

National Street Food Festival 2013

Enjoy the Warmth of Winter

Come One, Come All

Street Food Festival – 2013

Timings: 20, 21 & 22 December, 12 noon-10 pm

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium , Gate No: 14

Address:Bhisma Pitamah Road, Lodhi Road, Delhi- 110003

Entry By ticket Only – INR 30 Per Person

Coming awesome culinary delight in winter

NASVI to organize grand Street Food Festival in Delhi from 20 to 22 December 

NASVI to organize grand Street Food Festival in Delhi from 20 to 22 December

New Delhi, 13 November:

Promoting, professionalizing and branding street foods in its own master style, the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) on Wednesday announced to organize a grand Street Food Festival at the sprawling Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium complex in Delhi from 20 to 22 December. The theme slogan of this culinary carnival would be ‘Swad hai, Romanch hai, Street Foods ki Baat hi kuchh aur hai’.

This winter delight set to attract thousands of foodies across India over three days will have master street food vendors of different regions of India and other countries with their signature dishes  having age old stamps of culinary tradition and culture.

“Not just a unique battle of tastes, the carnival will be an advocacy event with a difference wherein the executives and functionaries of tourism, food processing, health, labour and employment departments and boards, and representatives of culinary institutes, development agencies, media and academic institutions would join together to share, acknowledge and celebrate the potentials and the possibilities of street food vending sector”, said Arbind Singh, NASVI national coordinator while announcing the dates and venue of the festival.

“It will be an occasion to reassert that the grassroots street food entrepreneurs play a wonderful role in poverty reduction, employment generation and enterprise building, and they make cities charming for all”, Mr. Singh added.

NASVI believes that the world today is witnessing a surge in street food preservation and professionalization and the street food advocates and entrepreneurs across countries are finding out ways to create new possibilities for regeneration of the street cuisine culture. Now it is widely recognized that the street food is not just palatable, inexpensive and convenient, but also is a large source of employment generation for thousands and thousands of informal workers.

According to NASVI, many a countries protect and promote street foods as street food enterprise contributes immensely to local economy and tourism. The concept of traditional street food has acquired new dimensions in developed countries, with food streets/ food centres emerging as new tourist attractions.  Evidences also suggest that the street food prepared with safe handling of ingredients and water contain more nutritional values in comparison to the foods served in hotels and restaurants.

NASVI is a network and advocacy platform of 740 street vendor organizations, trade unions and community based groups across 23 states of India. It gives voice and visibility to the street vendors, brings their issues of livelihood, social security and human rights to the forefront and engages with national and state governments as well as municipal bodies for protection of their rights and entitlements through policy and legislative instruments and good governance. It motivates street vendors for organizing, enables them to build their organizations and helps them up scale their entrepreneurship in a secured and dignified environment.

 

It runs street food professionalization programs and works in favour of the issues and stakes of street food vendors. Organizing street food festivals is a major component of NASVI led street food advocacy movement.

 

NASVI has time and again demonstrated its proven capacities in organizing Street Food Festivals with a pool of efficient street food vendors and teams of committed staff and representatives. The managerial capacity and the outreach planning have always turned events highly successful. The Street Food Festivals organized by NASVI in the national capital Delhi in November 2011 and December 2012 evoked huge response of the citizenry and attracted a large number of crowds. A team of Singapore Tourism also joined the 2012 festival and invited NASVI to participate in the World Street Food Congress.

A team of eight lead street food vendors joined the World Street Food Congress in Singapore from 31 May to 9 June, 2013. It was a great opportunity for Indian street food vendors of Dharwar and Mysore of Karnataka, Delhi and Patna. They gained a lot in terms of exposure, cross learning and professional planning.

 

Early this year, Bihar government also had invited NASVI to join the Bihar Diwas celebrations in Patna and Delhi.

Of late, NASVI has also started engaging with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for training and registration of street food vendors. In October this year, NASVI had organized a huge training of street food vendors on food safety and hygiene in Delhi.

NASVI feels that the street food vendors are disadvantaged because there is usually no support from formal institutions to improve their businesses or protect them from external influences. The usual response at policy level towards street food vendors is poor. They often have no legal status, resulting in victimisation by the police, public health institutions and local government authorities.

In such a situation, NASVI endeavours to build  social solidarity with street food vendors through promoting econo-culinary (economic and culinary) entrepreneurship of street food vendors, their exposures and capacity building and formation of their enterprise based company and collectives with their own holding stakes.

NASVI is also in the process of promoting a street food company. It would be a commercially viable and sustainable business structure to upscale the existing businesses of the street food vendors. It would be a Holding Company registered under Indian Companies Act with a capital investment of fifty lakhs. Food Vendors and other likeminded people would take equity stake in proposed holding company.  The constitution of the holding company will be designed to protect the mission and value system to ensure the long term viability of the organization. The Food Vendors will have the majority control of the shares in the Holding Company. Key roles of the Holding Company along with market facilitation will be capitalizing the old and new vendors company by attracting capital from institutions, private investors, employees and likeminded individuals.

NAC members, academicians, social activists and street vendors’ representatives protest continuing eviction of hawkers and police action in Mumbai and seek immediate intervention of Union Minister Ajay Maken and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan

NAC members, academicians, social activists and street vendors’ representatives protest continuing eviction of hawkers and police action in Mumbai and seek immediate intervention of Union Minister Ajay Maken and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan

The street vendors agitation in protest against ongoing forced eviction of hawkers in Mumbai and growing police atrocities gained momentum with National Advisory Council(NAC) members, academicians, labour rights activists and street vendors representatives on Friday coming in support of the suffering Mumbai hawkers and demanding immediate intervention of the Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ajay Maken and the Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan to ensure immediate stopping of the forced eviction drive and justice to the suffering street vendors and hawkers.

A petition, in this regard, signed by well known academician and labour expert of Tata Institute of Social Sciences Professor Sharit Bhowmik, NAC member Mirai Chatterjee, former NAC member and director of Center for Equity Studies Harsh Mander, SEWA president Renana Jhabvala and NASVI president and coordinator Manali Shah and Arbind Singh, has been sent to Mr. Maken and Mr. Chauhan.

The petition has urged the Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and the Maharashtra Chief Minister to ensure immediate stopping of evictions and reinstatement of evicted vendors in their plac

es, compensation to the family of the vendor Madan Jaiswal who died in police action in Mumbai on 11 January, 2013 and recognition of all natural markets and certificate of vending to vendors/hawkers in Mumbai.

The petition says, “The current eviction drive of hawkers in Mumbai has surpassed all limits of actions against the urban poor. The worst situation prevails in the Western region of the city where all 15 police stations falling under the area from Bandra to Jogeshwari have started evicting hawkers with brutal force. In Kalina and Ville Parle areas, the private security guards have been employed by the police to come heavily on the hawkers”. It adds, “The marauding police make raids and start abusing and beating hawkers before arresting them. Women vendors are mostly targeted as they are viewed as weak and helpless. The arrested hawkers are being fined heavily with an amount of not less than Rs. 1,200.The eastern region of the city is also witnessing continuous police raids against hawkers”.

The petition states, “The intensity of these evictions started following the death of a hawker in a similar raid on 11 January 2013. The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vasant Dhoble, who was conducting the drive, was subsequently transferred. From the moment this happened, the police and the municipal authorities have come out in full force and have started evictions against all hawkers in the city and its suburbs. It appears as if the concerned authorities are taking revenge for the transfer of their colleague. The police have given statements to the media that they will not stop the raids until all hawkers between Bandra and Jogeshwari are evicted permanently”.

The signatories state in the petition, “This eviction drive has caused tremendous loss of livelihoods to the affected hawkers who number nearly two lakhs. These people have been rendered in penury. There are also other sections of the population who have been similarly affected by the eviction of hawkers. These include vegetable growers in the region, hundreds of thousands of workers in micro and small factories and home-based workers (most of them poor women) who produce goods that are sold through hawkers and the urban poor who depend on hawkers for their requirements.”

Meanwhile, National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) has stepped up the campaign for the justice to hawkers in Mumbai.  Just after the police action led death of a hawker in Mumbai last month, NASVI had organized protests in Mumbai, Delhi and several cities and towns of the country demanding halt on forced eviction of hawkers, suspension of ACP Vasant Dhoble and compensation to the family of the deceased hawker. The street vendors’ body also had faxed and mailed memoranda to the concerned authorities in Delhi and Mumbai including Union Home Minister, Home Secretary, Maharashtra Chief Minister and State Home Minister.  NASVI also has launched an Online Campaign under which a petition to the Prime Minister, UPA Chairperson, HUPA Minister and Maharashtra Chief Minister has been posted and the citizenry is being requested to sign it to ensure justice to the hawkers in Mumbai.

NASVI launches anti- police terror campaign – Justice for Martyr Hawker Madan Jaiswal

Heat of Mumbai hawkers protest reaches national capital with street vendors forming human chain in Delhi demanding institution of murder charge against Mumbai ACP whose terror led to death of a hawker in Mumbai

 Agitators demand compensation of Rs. 25 lakh from Maharashtra government to the family of dead street vendor

New Delhi, 20 January:

The heat of Mumbai hawkers’ protests reached national capital on Sunday with street vendors forming human chain at Parliament Street in Delhi demanding institution of murder charge against the infamous Mumbai Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vasant Dhoble whose action led to the death of a 45 years old hawker Madan Jaiswal in Mumbai on 11 January. The agitating vendors also demanded from the Maharashtra government to immediately provide compensation of Rs. 25 lakh to the family of the deceased hawker and threatened that if their demands were not met, the hawkers and vendors from Maharashtra and other states would assemble in Delhi to march to the Home Ministry.

Joining the human chain organized by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) which launched a nationwide anti-police terror campaign on Sunday, the street vendors of Delhi made a shrill cry to make police accountable to the public and said that the vendors and hawkers make city streets safer as they keep vigil on the streets.  They said, “We are the eyes and the ears of city. We make markets and public places safe and secure. If we are not at railway and bus station premises, the areas would be prone to loot and crimes. We serve people, help local economy grow and make city inclusive and dynamic, but the authorities refuse to legalize us and give us the space and opportunities to earn a descent living.   The police and municipal officials exploit us financially, but when we refuse to entertain them, we face threats, harassment and forced eviction.”

Addressing the street vendors, NASVI national coordinator Arbind Singh called upon the vendors and hawkers to get organized and unionized in every market so that strong resistances could be mounted in cases of forced eviction and police atrocities.  He said, “After every incident, accident and outrage, we listen that the country needs police reform. Police reform essentially means making police accountable to the public, accountable to the citizen, accountable to the working poor and accountable to the civil society. It is really disturbing that the police in even cities like Mumbai and Delhi are not accountable to the public. They are accountable to their bosses sitting in home ministries.”

Describing the transfer of Mumbai ACP as  an ‘attempt to shield him and exercise to hush up the incident of police crackdown triggered death of a street vendor’, Mr. Singh  said, “ Just after the shocking incident in Mumbai on 11 January, we emailed and faxed protest letters to the Union Home Minister, Union Home Secretary, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Maharashtra Chief Minister, Maharashtra Home Minister, Maharashtra DGP and Mumbai Police Chief as well as the National Human Rights Commission and demanded that the charges of murder  be lodged against the infamous ACP, he must be sacked and the state government  immediately provide compensation of Rs. 25 lakh to the family of the dead street vendor Madan Jaiswal. Now, we call upon the street vendors’ organizations of all states to reiterate the demands through faxing protest and demand letters to ministers and authorities in Delhi.”

NASVI chief said that the death of fruit vendor was not a natural death as the police and the medical authorities tried to rumour, rather it was  a death due to the  shock and awe created by the Dhoble brigade. He said, “The establishment treats tragedies according to its convenience. When a constable Subhash Tomar dies in Delhi during people protest, the police establishment gets outraged, but when a poor vendor Madan Jaiswal dies in Mumbai during police action, the agencies and the authorities do not feel ashamed.”

He said that though there is a National Policy for Street Vendors and the central government is in the process of bringing in a central law to protect the livelihood and social security rights of street vendors as mandated by the Supreme Court of India, street vendor like Madan Jaiswal is sacrificing his life fighting against the terror of the police and loot of municipal body.

Several street vendor leaders and NASVI representatives also addressed the protesters at the Parliament Street.

Meanwhile, according to a NASVI release, the anti- police terror campaign which started on Sunday would continue till 26 January in the first phase.  NASVI affiliate Azad Hawkers Union would organize a huge vendors/hawkers rally at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on 24 January. NASVI has called upon the street vendors’ representatives across the country to join the Mumbai Rally against reign of terror unleashed by the police and the municipal authorities against street vendors. The street vendors’ organizations in  northern  and southern states would organize week long protests and would send  protest and demand letters to the Union Home Minister, Union Home Secretary, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Maharashtra Chief Minister, Maharashtra Home Minister, Maharashtra Director General of Police, Mumbai Police Chief as well as the National Human Rights Commission.

Welcome to the Street Food Festival 2012

Street Food Festival, 2012

Main Lawn, Constitution Club

Rafi Marg, New Delhi

 

Inauguration: 4pm, 14 December

Timings: 4 pm to 10 pm, 14 December

12 noon to 10 pm, 15 &16 December

It goes without saying that the street food is not just palatable, inexpensive and convenient, but also is a large source of employment generation for thousands and thousands of informal sector workers. Moreover, Street food is a treasure house of local culinary traditions and is increasingly playing an important role as an enhancer and force multiplier of tourism sector all over the world.

Importance of Street Food:

The street food vendors are valuable because it is a large significant area supporting the livelihoods of millions of the urban poor. The convenience and low prices make street food the most favoured choice of the migrant workers in the large cities. The concept of traditional street food has acquired new dimensions in developed countries, with food streets/ food centres emerging as new tourist attractions. Major tourist destinations abroad invariably have food streets offering exotic local foods. Street food has indeed become the fast food of developing countries. It caters to the same kind of need for inexpensive, available food. It provides a service for people who can’t afford the time or money and the hard working poor have little of either- for a bit sit down meal.

Need of the Street Food Festival:

Street food vendors are disadvantaged because there is usually no support from formal institutions to improve their businesses or protect them from external influences. The usual response at policy level is that they sell unhygienic low-quality food, dump garbage, engage in criminal activities and are a nuisance to maintaining law and order. They often have no legal status, resulting in victimisation by the police, public health institutions and local government authorities. Of late, street food vending is under severe attack by the elite policy makers, administrators and courts.

NASVI Perspective

As the leading platform of street vendors of India the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) has always tried to champion the causes of the street food vendors and help them assert with their  acumen and brilliance of profession. For NASVI, promoting street food and cementing the identity of street food vendors is closely linked with preserving and promoting the social- cultural diversity of India.

Objectives behind Street Food Festival

1. To mobilize street food vendors across the country and to exhibit and serve their local culinary traditions
2. To promote healthy and hygienic food vending practices among the street food vendors across the states of India.
3. To further promote federations of street food vendors and associate them with NASVI so that the bargaining power of the vendors increases in securing their rights and entitlements from the state.
4. To use the festival as an advocacy event to influence the government to ensure that the street food vendors too need secured and dignified livelihood.

 

Street Food Festival, 2012

Though NASVI had organized street food festivals in 2009 (Hyderabad) and 2010 and 2011 (Delhi) also, but those were not at larger scales. This year NASVI is pulling the resources at command and vows to turn it as mega event for Delhites. The festival is aimed at promoting the street foods from the streets across India with hygiene and affordable prices in the tough time of growing food insecurity and inflation.

The Street Food Festival, 2012 would be held at main lawns of VP House near Parliament in Delhi on 14-16 December. Approximately 50 street food stalls of different states from Kerala to Assam and from Punjab to West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa would be there in the festival.

The street food would consist not just of snacks, but other more substantial dishes including Odisha dishes, Bengali plates with prawns in mustard and pieces of steamed fish wrapped in banana leaf, pieces of makke ki roti with amazing saag from Punjab and Bihari thali of mutton cooked in entire bulbs of garlic with rice. Kerala chicken, fish, putta and egg curry, medu vada and Jharkhand banana jalebi would be other hits.

NASVI has also launched an aggressive social media campaign to make the event a grand one. A separate Facebook page has been created to enable more and more urban citizens to participate in the event. One can visit the page by clicking link: www.facebook.com/streetfoodfest

Gujarat level Street Vendors Convention ‘Lari Galla Jagriti Sabha’ concludes in Surat

Convention vows to intensify agitation for effective and comprehensive central law and against FDI entry into retail

Convention also calls upon vendors to vote for

 Pro-vendor and pro-labour candidates in upcoming state assembly elections

City level street vendor federations would be formed

Surat, 12 October:

 

A large number of street vendors and their representatives from Surat and other parts of Gujarat on Friday joined a state level convention named as Lari Galla Jagriti Sabha and vowed to intensify agitation and advocacy efforts to get an effective and comprehensive central law to protect their right to livelihood, social security and human rights. They also protested the UPA Government decision to allow FDI in retail.

 

The convention which witnessed an impressive presence of women street vendors expressed anguish over the attitudes of state government and municipal bodies towards informal workers and called upon the street vendors and other sections of working poor to get united and federalized for successful struggles to win their rights. The convention announced that the vendors would vote for only pro-vendor and pro-labour candidates in the upcoming state assembly elections. .

 

Addressing the convention, NASVI national coordinator Arbind Singh said, “the sustained agitation of NASVI for getting a comprehensive central law in favour of street vendors has forced the central government to introduce the Street Vendors Bill in the Lok Sabha. We believe that the Bill has many key provisions which can go a long way to ensure that the vendors get a secured and dignified livelihood, provided some major shortcomings are corrected/rectified immediately as the shortcomings defeat the very purpose of the proposed legislation”.

 

About shortcomings of the Bill introduced in Lok Sabha on 6 September, NASVI coordinator  elaborated on how the current Bill leaves a lot with delegated legislation. He said, “Most of the issues are left to the Scheme that is to be framed by the local authorities beginning with the manner of registration to the entire thing. Knowing the power relations at the city level, it is important that the Bill provides provisions ensuring that the Act shall ‘protect the rights of urban street vendors and regulate street vending’ rather than prohibit and curb street vending”

 

He quoted October, 2010 landmark judgment of the Supreme Court wherein the apex court had ruled, “…The hawkers’ and squatter or vendors right to carry on hawking has been recognized as fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g). At the same time, the right of the commuters to move freely and use the roads without any impediment is also a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(d).These two apparently conflicting rights must be harmonized and regulated by subjecting them to reasonable restrictions only under a law. The question is, therefore, vitally important to a very large section of people, mostly ordinary men and women. Such an issue cannot be left to be decided by schemes and which are monitored by this Court from time to time.”

 

NASVI national coordinator said that another major shortcoming of the Bill was that it excluded vendors earning their livelihood near railway stations or on railway platforms.

 

He revealed that just yesterday he met the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development in Delhi and apprised him with NASVI points of amendments to the Bill. “We also are approaching the MPs of several political parties and convincing them to raise amendments to the Bill and ensure enactment of a comprehensive law”, he said.

 

Describing decision to allow the FDI in retail as national disaster, NASVI coordinator said that it would further threaten the livelihood of street vendors. Instead of eliminating middlemen, a new class of middlemen patronized by Walmart type sharks would emerge and it would fleece all, be it the farmers, vendors or other small retailers. He called upon the street vendors of Gujarat to get organized against the onslaughts of multinational retailers’ hyper markets.

 

About municipal governance in Gujarat, he said, “The state government does need to ensure that their municipal bodies set examples of pro-poor responsive governance.” He added that Gujarat was one of those few states which had not implemented the 2004 National Policy for Street Vendors properly.

 

Expressing anguish over the fact that working poor contribute so much to local economies and provide cheap and affordable services to society, but their growth suffers, Mr. Singh called upon the street vendors to get organized and federalized, develop leadership and negotiation skills, engage effectively with government authorities and struggle collectively to win their rights.

 

Presiding over the convention, trade union leader Naishadh Desai charged the state government with neglecting the issues and concerns of informal workers. He protested the non-responsiveness of municipal bodies and said that the street vendors often faced victimization, terror and loot of municipal bodies and police in several parts of Gujarat.

 

Speaking at the convention, academician and labour rights activist Professor Babu Desai said, “Without integrating street vendors with city and town development plans, the all talk of making city/town beautiful, regulated, prosperous and vibrant would remain a hoax.”

 

The convention was addressed among others by Shramjeevi Sewalaya general secretary Mohanbhai Dabuwala, Gujarat Shramik Hawkers Sangathan president Ganpatrao Kale,  Jagte Raho India chief Jaylal, Self Employed Women Association leader Champaben Patni and several street vendor leaders of Nabsari, Vododra, Bharuch and Bhavnagar.

 

The convention was conducted by NASVI program manager Ranjit Abhigyan.

 

Post- convention, a delegation comprising of NASVI coordinator Arbind Singh, SEWA leader Champa Ben Patni, Gujarat Shramik Hawkers Sangathan president Ganpatrao Kale, Jagte Raho India president Jaylal and NASVI representative Ranjit Abhigyan called on the Surat Police Commissioner with the demand to put halt on continuing harassment, victimization and eviction of vendors of different areas including Sardar Market of the city.

NASVI organized Punjab level ‘Street Vendors Convention’ concludes

Street vendors ask government ‘cities grow and opportunities come up, but why do they remain vulnerable and marginalized?

Chandigarh, 6 October:

A large number of street vendors and their representatives from Chandigarh and other parts of Punjab on Saturday joined a state level convention asking government and municipal bodies ‘ cities and towns grow and so are the opportunities, but why do street vendors and other working poor remain vulnerable, deprived and marginalized?’

The convention on ‘ Changing Cities, Growing Challenges & Protection of Livelihood of Street Vendors’ was organized by the National Association of Street Vendors of India {NASVI) in association with Chandigarh based street vendors’ organizations.

Besides hundreds of street vendor representatives from Chandigarh, Mohali, Ludhiana, Sangrur, Patiala, Barnala, Amritsar, Abohar, Rajpura and Hoshiarpur, top officials of the Chandigarh Municipal Coporation including its Commissioner VP Singh, additional commissioner Lalit Chiwas, mayor Rajbala Malik, former union minister HM Dhawan and national coordinator of NASVI Arbind Singh also joined the convention.

The convention demanded of the central government to immediately enact the central law to protect livelihood of street vendors and put ban on FDI in retail.

It also demanded of the Punjab government and UT Chandigarh administration to instruct their municipal bodies to prepare time bound action plans for constituting Town/Ward Vending Committees with forty per cent members of the committee being street vendors and creating at least fifty vending zones in each town.

Addressing the convention, NASVI national coordinator Arbind Singh said that the cities and towns were changing rapidly and several opportunities also coming up. He, however, added that many challenges had also surfaced.

“One of major challenges is to counter the growing victimization, deprivation and marginalization of street vendors and other sections of working poor. The vulnerabilities and marginalization of the working poor can only be checked through creating a supportive legal- administrative environment, developing integrative city development plans and putting in place corruption free efficient and responsive municipal governance”, NASVI chief said.

He called upon the street vendors to get organized, build their organizations, develop leadership and negotiation skills, engage effectively with government authorities and struggle collectively to win their rights.

The convention was addressed among others by NASVI program manager and in charge of Punjab Ranjit Abhigyan, vendor leader of Patiala Vasudev Saneja, vendor leaders of Chandigarh Rammilan Gaur, RA Chauhan, Surinder Gandhi, Ludhiana based vendor leaders Tirath Singh, Jagdish Walia and Tiger Singh, Sangrur based leader Hari Singh and other vendor leaders of Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Barnala, Rajpura and Abohar.

Before the convention, training on developing negotiation skills was also organized for the selected street vendor leaders. The training sessions were moderated by NASVI program managers Vinod Simon, Anurag Shankar and Amita Srivastava.

Post-convention, NASVI has announced to intensify nationwide agitation for early enactment of central law to protect the fundamental right to livelihood of street vendors. It also called upon the street vendors to protest the UPA government decision to allow the FDI in retail.

Addressing a press conference at the Chandigarh Press Club, NASVI national coordinator Arbind Singh charged the Manmohan Singh government with what he called selling a fake dream to the farmers, the working poor and the middle class consumers. “ At one level, the central government introduces the street vendors bill in the Lok Sabha for protecting livelihood of street vendors, but on the other hand, it puts red carpets for the multinational retailers”, he said.

He said that the bill introduced in the Lok Sabha had some major shortcomings. One of the major flaws included provision of giving a seven days notice before eviction or relocation. “We stand for no eviction of street vendors and if in any extraordinary situation wherein the relocation becomes a necessity, a notice should be given before three months”, NASVI chief said.  He also said that the railway vendors had not been included under the purview of the proposed law and many things had been left to the local authority and the schemes.

“We are approaching the MPs of several political parties and convincing them to raise amendments to the bill and ensure enactment of a comprehensive law”, he said.

Describing decision to allow the FDI in retail as national disaster, NASVI coordinator said that it would further threaten the livelihood of street vendors. In stead of eliminating middlemen, a new class of middlemen patronized by Walmart type sharks would emerge and it would fleece all, be it the farmers, vendors or other small retailers. He called upon the street vendors of Punjab to gherao multinational retailers’ hyper markets. He also thanked the Punjab government for getting over its initial fascination for FDI in retail.

About municipal governance in Punjab and Chandigarh, NASVI chief said, “The state government and the UT administration do need to ensure that their municipal bodies set examples of pro-poor responsive governance.” He added that Punjab was one of those few states which had not implemented the 2004 National Policy for Street Vendors properly.

Street vendors call FDI national disaster and protest across several cities

New Delhi, 19 September:

 

Thousands of street vendors and small retailers across several cities on Wednesday responded to the ‘Anti- FDI Protest’ call given by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) by coming on to the streets shouting slogans like ‘FDI is national disaster for working poor, Protest it tooth and nail’ and ‘Indian Prime Minister suffers from foreign investment complex’.

 

The protesting vendors charged the government with ignoring and dishonoring the voices of the working people and protecting the interests of the multinational retail giants. The agitators warned the government that if it does not retreat on disastrous FDI decision, they would storm to the Prime Minister Office (PMO) and the Union Commerce Ministry.

 

Leading the street vendors march and demonstration at Parliament Street in Delhi, the national coordinator of NASVI Arbind Singh said that at one level the UPA government was introducing the Bill to protect livelihood of street vendors, but on the other allowing multinational retail giants to further threaten the livelihood of vendors. It is not overcoming what the corporate and a section of mainstream media call ‘policy paralyses, the fact remains that the government, particularly the prime minister has ‘foreign investment complex’.

 

He also found official government arguments diversionary and said that small farmers and consumers would certainly not get benefitted and a new class of middlemen patronized by multinational retailers would emerge. The inflation would not come down, prices of essential goods would further escalate and incidence of labour rights violation would be regular.

 

“FDI, in essence, means direct foreign infiltration into domestic economy and it would ruin the retail and help the realty sector as the move would create demand of mall and real estate developers for retail space”, Mr. Singh added.

 

He said, “Last year when we had come out on the streets against the FDI and many political parties and state governments had also opposed the move, the government was forced to retreat. But, now, the regime in Delhi has finally succumbed to the pressure of foreign multinational companies.” He warned that if the government does not retreat on the issue of FDI in retail, the street vendors would storm to the PMO and the Union Commerce Ministry.

 

The nationwide anti- FDI protest day marked marches, demonstrations, sit in and effigy burning in several cities down south from Palakkad, Cochin, Chennai, Mysore, Vijayawada and Hyderabad to Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, and from Mumbai, Pune, Surat, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana to Haridwar, Dehradun, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Patna and Guwahati. Everywhere the vendors and small shopkeepers came out on streets protesting against the government’s decision to allow the FDI in retail. At several centers in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the agitating vendors thanked their respective state governments for opposing the decision of the central government.

Urgent Appeal FDI is National Disaster Organize Protest in Your City on 19 September Against Government Decision to Allow FDI in Retail

Dear NASVI Members, Friends and Well Wishers  

 

As you all know that the central government has finally ignored and dishonored the voices of the people of the country, especially the street vendors and small retailers and has decided to allow FDI in retail.  Last year when we had come out on the streets against FDI and many political parties and state governments had also opposed the move to allow the FDI, the government was forced to retreat. But, now, it has succumbed to the pressure of foreign multinational companies.

 

National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) strongly opposes the central government’s decision to allow FDI in retail trade and calls upon the street vendors and their organizations to protest the government’s move on streets on 19 September across the country.

 

We strongly believe that the FDI infiltration into retail sector would badly impact the livelihood of vendors and small retailers and the massive contribution of vendors and retailers to city, state and national economies would get drastically down.  Moreover, the FDI would ruin the retail and help the realty sector as the move would create demand of mall and real estate developers for retail space.”

It is really surprising that at one level the UPA government is introducing the Bill to protect livelihood of street vendors, but on the other allowing multinational retail giants to further threaten the livelihood of vendors.

The government is also befooling the people of the country by saying that the farmers and the consumers would get benefitted. In reality, small farmers and consumers would suffer immensely and a new class of middlemen patronized by Wal-Mart type companies would emerge. The inflation would not come down, prices of essential goods would further escalate and incidence of labour rights violation would be regular.

NASVI calls upon you all to organize protest in your city on 19 September, 2012 with the main slogan:

 

Stop Attacking Livelihood of Street Vendors

Stop FDI in Retail

 

[In Delhi, on 19 September, a large number of street vendors would hold demonstration at Parliament Street at 12 noon.  Friends and well wishers living in Delhi are requested to join the demonstration.]

 

In solidarity

Arbind Singh

National Coordinator

NASVI opposes FDI in Retail and calls upon vendors and other small retailers to hit the streets

Press Statement: New Delhi, 15 September:

National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) on Saturday strongly opposed the central government’s decision to allow FDI in retail trade and called upon the street vendors and their organizations to protest the government’s move on streets across the country.

The Association said that the FDI infiltration into retail sector would badly impact the livelihood of vendors and small retailers and the massive contribution of vendors and retailers to city, state and national economies would get drastically down.

Protesting the decision of the government, NASVI national coordinator Arbind Singh said, “The government is showing scant regard to widespread popular opposition to FDI in retail. It seems the internal economic regeneration through augmenting local urban economies in an inclusive manner and, thereby, boosting the national economy is out of the agenda of the government.  It is nothing short of national disaster for working poor of the country. We call upon the street vendors and other small retailers to rise in protest against this disastrous decision of the government.” Charging the government with protecting the interests of realtors and mall developers, NASVI coordinator said, “FDI would ruin the retail and help the realty sector as the move would create demand of mall and real estate developers for retail space.”

He said that at one level the UPA government was introducing the Bill to protect livelihood of street vendors, but on the other allowing multinational retail giants to further threaten the livelihood of vendors. It is not overcoming what the corporate and the media call ‘policy paralyses, the fact remains that the government is politically confused.

He also found official government arguments diversionary and said that small farmers and consumers would certainly not get benefitted and a new class of middlemen patronized by Wal-Mart type companies would emerge. The inflation would not come down, prices of essential goods would further escalate and incidence of labour rights violation would be regular.