http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1153013.cms
Daryaganj Sundays: Going, going, not gone
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2005 12:37:21 AM ]
NEW DELHI: The 160-odd shop owners who make up the Daryaganj book market were a relieved lot on Sunday. The rain that cooled down the overheated city may have brought out some of the smiles, but it was the MCD no-show that really did the trick: three weeks of clearing up this weekly market came to a stop even as nearly 50,000 visitors didn't.
As business picked up and sales surged at this roadside book fair, fear hung heavy over the market. "Today, everything is fine. But I am scared that the officials may come again. It is our only source of livelihood," said Kuldeep Raj Nanda, general secretary, Sunday Book Bazaar Patri Welfare Association.
According to HPS Saran, MCD deputy commissioner, city zone: "We got the representation from the shopkeepers. We will be considering it and by next week we will try to settle everything."
However, for shopkeepers of the nearby kabaadi bazaar, who were relocated on Sunday, it was a day of confusion and chaos. On 5th August 2001, in the name of a beautification drive, the bazaar was removed on the basis of a relocation strategy that promised the vendors alternate market space. That promise has remained unfulfilled for more than three years now.
On Sunday, they were finally relocated to Velodrome Road. But that seems to have helped little. While the number of shopkeepers is as high as 4,000, (including the MCD card holders and non-card holders), MCD plans to give space only to the 1,167 shopkeepers who have the cards.
"Most of them are not eligible. They don't have the cards. At present, we can only provide space for the card holders," said Saran.
The non-card holders, however, have occupied the lane. "We don't have the card, because it was issued long back, may be somewhere in 1988 and I was not there at that time. Moreover, we do not have an union, so nobody takes up our cause," said a shoe-shop owner.
"There is total chaos here. People are not clear where to put their stalls or whether they are eligible to get the space or not. Some of our members do not hold cards. Where will they go?" said Sanjay Kumar of Sewa Bharat, an NGO working with street vendors.
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Daryaganj Sundays Going, going, not gone- The Times of India.url
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