Street vendors are unhappy that they have been left out from the list of people in different sectors that will receive compensation from the State. The Bengaluru Jilla Beedhi Vyaapari Sanghatanegala Okkoota has urged Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to include street vendors who have been left out in the ₹1,610 crore relief package.
It asked the government to provide each vendor a compensation of ₹15,000 along with a long-term interest free loan of ₹30,000. They have also urged the government to look into the issue of police harassment.
S. Babu, a street vendor and president of the okkoota, said that it was unfair on the part of the government to not include them. “We need operating capital to restart our businesses and lead our lives. We have somehow managed till now but the future is bleak. The government should also resume public transport as soon as possible and give us passes at subsidised rates,” he said.
Manju G., a street food vendor and State president of Akhila Karnataka Rasti-badi Vyaparigala Jagruti Okkoota, said that the BBMP had shut the street food joints in the second week of March citing a spurt in cholera cases in the city and it was becoming increasingly difficult for them survive. “We have been jobless for almost two months now,” he said.
Vinay Srinivasa, a social activist, said that only a few vendors were being allowed to operate, and that too with restrictions. He alleged that many vendors were being harassed by the police and urged the government to step in.
