Actors, writers and 500 individuals support street vendors; demand govt. to implement Street Vendors Act
Over 500 individuals, including film maker, actor, astrophysicist, writers, senior activists and advocates, have endorsed an open letter initiated by researchers, students and activist, expressing
Over 500 individuals, including film maker, actor, astrophysicist, writers, senior activists and advocates, have endorsed an open letter initiated by researchers, students and activist, expressing solidarity with street vendors who were evicted from footpaths during Safe Footpath Drive by Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). The people who support the street vendors include filmmaker Kavitha Lankesh, writer Vijayamma, astrophysicist Prajval Shastry, architect Prem Chandavarkar, writer Rahmath Tarikere, actor Prakash Raj. They have urged the Chief Minister, D.K. Shivakumar, Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, and GBA Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao to stop the eviction of street vendors and implement the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
The letter, along with the list of endorsements, will be emailed to Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Rao. Questioning the decision of targeting only street vendors, the letter stated, “Overnight, the government has snatched away the livelihoods of thousands of street vendors, in the name of “safe footpaths” and “walkable cities”. Social media is currently flooded with photos of street vendors being evicted while large cars continue to be parked on the same pavement, just a few meters away.
Why are only street vendors being targeted by this campaign? Why does this campaign treat the livelihoods of the poorest as the easiest problem to solve?” While clarifying that they are not against the pedestrian friendly cities or footpaths, the activists have urged Mr. Shivakumar, Mr. Gowda, and Mr. Rao to immediately stop the eviction of street vendors and allow those already evicted to return to business in the same place.
They have also demanded that street vendor representatives are consulted in any matters pertaining to the issue.
The BriefWire