Street vendors of the city have drawn the attention of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to the prevailing practice of usury and sought his intervention to ensure social security for those in the informal sector.
The Chamundeshwari Street Vendors’ Welfare Association has pointed out that daily wagers, mainly women dealing with vegetables and other horticultural produce, are vulnerable and exploited and under the clutches of private money lenders who charge exorbitant rates of interest.
Dodmane Manjunath, president of the association, highlighted the problems plaguing the vendors and pointed out that most of them do not have access to institutional credit as a result of which they are under the clutches of private money lenders. A short-term loan of ₹10,000 is slapped with an interest of ₹200 to ₹500 per day as a result of which the vendors can barely hope for a sustainable living. The association also accused the police and local authorities of extortion, all of which reduces the daily income of the vendors, Mr. Manjunath said.
Welcoming the decision to extend interest-free short-term credits to bail out vendors, the association said it should be backed by cracking down on usury.
