Vendors take over footpaths in city

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Oct 19: Pedestrians in Ganeshguri area of the city have a tough time negotiating space to walk as the street vendors have almost taking over the footpath on Sankardev Path (GS Road) .

The makeshift shops set up by the vegetable vendors on the footpath have made the pedestrian imposable to walk. 

Sources said despite repeated orders by Gauhati Municipal Corporation (GMC)   and district administration, the vendors have not paid any heed to it and defied the order. 

“This is not just the picture of this locality; this is the picture of greater Guwahati. More than half of the city footpaths are occupied by vegetable and fruit vendors. The roads are filled with cars and buses. The pedestrians have no space to walk in the city,” Tarun Deka, a resident of Ganeshguri area, told The Sentinel.

A sprawling vegetable market, where hawkers sell fruits and vegetables dot the footpaths leaving very little space for pedestrians to walk, said another commuter.

He said that the vendors on the footpaths often force the pedestrian to walk on the road.

 Chinmay Dutta, another city resident said, “It is very unfortute that even after giving several instructions by the administration not to use the footpaths for business purpose and leave it for the commuters to walk through, these vendors have turning deaf ears to it.”

“These are small vendors and we do have our sympathy to them, but this is not the right place for selling vegetables and fruits. This is a footpath meant for walkers to walk. This has become a huge problem for the pedestrians,” he added.