Hawkers
A long-term perspective on hawkers at the national level.
Cities are engines of growth. Indian mega-cities are rushing to provide world-class infrastructure to welcome capital investment. Mumbai, the largest mega-city of India, is in an abysmal state. More than half her population is forced to live in slums and shanties, and work in the informal sector. This informal sector accounts for 66.7% of total employment in Delhi and 68% in Mumbai. Workers engaged in this urban informal sector form the bulk of the urban poor. The contribution of the urban sector to the national economy is nearly 60%. This makes the informal sector itself a major employer in the biggest metropolises in the country -- Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. But the street vendors are not regarded as a part of the urban system. Despite that almost all sections of urban society, including the more affluent sections, patronise them.
The paper intends to comprehensively investigate: * The services offered by formal vendoring sector to the lower income run consumers * The legal and other problems faced by the street vendors * The views of the consumers who buy from street vendors so as to understand why they patronise them and thereby discover the positive and negative aspects of hawking.
This study would survey hawkers, as this would throw light on the type of problems the hawkers face. A mere assertion of the demands of hawkers for the right to work and the right to an existence is not enough to put forth their case at the national level. It is necessary to examine all factors associated with hawking as a profession. Only then could a clear idea on the problem emerge. This in turn can help organising a national campaign on problems of street vendors.
Who loses if there are no hawkers?
a. Hawkers - poverty alleviation - SC has clarified that this is not adequate reason despite National Street Vendors Policy
b. Consumers - convenience, price, only availability (goods + services), matching
Cities are engines of growth. Indian mega-cities are rushing to provide world-class infrastructure to welcome capital investment. Mumbai, the largest mega-city of India, is in an abysmal state. More than half her population is forced to live in slums and shanties, and work in the informal sector. This informal sector accounts for 66.7% of total employment in Delhi and 68% in Mumbai. Workers engaged in this urban informal sector form the bulk of the urban poor. The contribution of the urban sector to the national economy is nearly 60%. This makes the informal sector itself a major employer in the biggest metropolises in the country -- Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. But the street vendors are not regarded as a part of the urban system. Despite that almost all sections of urban society, including the more affluent sections, patronise them.
The paper intends to comprehensively investigate: * The services offered by formal vendoring sector to the lower income run consumers * The legal and other problems faced by the street vendors * The views of the consumers who buy from street vendors so as to understand why they patronise them and thereby discover the positive and negative aspects of hawking.
This study would survey hawkers, as this would throw light on the type of problems the hawkers face. A mere assertion of the demands of hawkers for the right to work and the right to an existence is not enough to put forth their case at the national level. It is necessary to examine all factors associated with hawking as a profession. Only then could a clear idea on the problem emerge. This in turn can help organising a national campaign on problems of street vendors.
Who loses if there are no hawkers?
a. Hawkers - poverty alleviation - SC has clarified that this is not adequate reason despite National Street Vendors Policy
b. Consumers - convenience, price, only availability (goods + services), matching