Bhowmik (2005) Street Vendors in Asia A Review
Bhowmik (2005) Street Vendors in Asia A Review
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Street Vendors in Asia: A Review
This paper attempts to examinle recent research done on street vendors in Asia with the aim
of assessing the magnitude of street vending in different countries and the composition of
the vendors. Further, it collates information on the extent of unionisation of the vendors
and other organisations, such as non-government organisations (NGOs), self-help
organisations (SHOs), advocacy groups, etc, that work for their welfare.
SHARIT K BHOWMIK
ack of gainful employment coupled with poverty in ruralthat they occupy space on the pavements or other public/private
areas has pushed people out of their villages in search ofspaces or, they may be mobile in the sense they move from place
a better existence in the cities. These migrants do notto place by carrying their wares on push carts or in baskets on
possess the skills or the education to enable them to find bettertheir heads. In this essay, the term 'street vendor' includes
paid, secure employment in the formal sector and they have to stationary as well as mobile vendors and it incorporates all other
settle for work in the informal sector. There is another sectionlocal/region specific terms used to describe them. In this study,
of the population in these countries which is forced to join the the terms 'street vendor' and 'hawker' have the same meaning
informal sector. They are workers who were earlier employed and they are often interchanged.
in the formal sector. They lost their jobs because of closures, There is a substantial increase in the number of street
down-sizing or mergers in the industries they worked in and they vendors in the major Asian cities. In India, the National Pol
for Urban Street Vendors/Hawkers notes that street vendors
or their family members had to seek low-paid work in the informal
constitute approximately 2 per cent of the population of a
sector in order to survive. The first category, namely low skilled
rural migrants, exist in all countries of Asia but they are more metropolis. The total number of street vendors in the country
prevalent in the poorer countries such as India, Bangladesh,is estimated at around 10 million. This number is likely to increase
Nepal, Cambodia and Vietnam. These countries did not have evena further. The reports from the Asian countries show that there
strong industrial base and in the past too, the urban workforce
was a jump in the number of street vendors after the financial
was engaged mainly in the informal sector. crisis of 1998. This crisis had affected the Asian Tigers the
most and one does find that that there was a sharp rise in street
The second category, namely, workers who were earlier in the
formal sector, exists in countries such as Philippines, Southvendors in Thailand, Singapore and Philippines. Thus we can
Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and India The closure ofsee that many of the workers who lose their jobs in the formal
several industries due to a variety of reasons - outsourcing of sector take to street vending as an option that allows them to
work to the informal sector, mergers of some of the corporations, make a living.
downsizing of the production units, etc - has resulted in large At the same time it should be noted that street vending survives
scale unemployment in these countries. In most cases, the in- not merely because it is an important source of employment but
formal sector has absorbed these people. In fact it can be observedalso because of the services it provides to the urban population.
that even manufacturing units in the informal sector have grownFor the urban poor, street vendors provide goods, including food,
at low prices. Hence we find that one section of the urban poor,
faster than the units in the formal sector. For example, in India,
according to the government's pre-budget Economic Survey for namely, street vendors, subsidises the existence of the other
2004-05, the total workforce in the formal sector is around 27sections of the urban poor by providing them cheap goods,
million while the small-scale industries provide employment toincluding food. Middle-income groups too benefit from street
28 million workers. The Survey notes that employment in thisvending because of the affordable prices offered. These aspects
sector grew from 24 million in 2000-01 to 28 million in 2004- are unfortunately ignored by the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and
05 whereas employment in the formal sector is stagnant at 27 the police because more often than not, street vending is con-
million since 1991.Around half of those employed in the formalsidered an illegal activity and street vendors are treated as
sector are in white-collar jobs, hence workers in the small-scale
criminals. In fact the studies and reports quoted in this study
sector outnumber blue-collar workers in the formal sector. show that in almost all the Asian countries, street vendors have
The activities in the informal sector can be categorised into no legal status to conduct their business and they are constantly
two sections - the self-employed and casual (non-permanent) harassed by the authorities. Yet they are popular because they
labour. A major section of tho self-employed work as streetprovide the urban population with much needed services that
vendors. The rise in the ntlUber of street vendors is largely due neither the municipalities nor the larger retailing outlets can
to the lack of employmnt in other sectors but it is also directly provide. In the following sections we shall discus the status of
linked to the expansion of the informal sector in these countries.street vendors based on reports and studies conducted in the
different countries.
Growth of Street Vending The first step in the data collection was to try and identify
the existing studies. I had come across a few studies while
participating in seminars. I wrote to the authors and asked
A street vendor is broadly defined as :a person who offers goods
them if they had any further contacts with other researchers.
for sale to the public without having a permanent built-up structure
from which to sell. Street vendors may be stationary in the senseUnfortunately, this yielded hardly any results. The few
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researchers who had studied street vending were unable to put continue to be regarded as illegal traders and will continue to
me in touch with others because there is hardly any academic be harassed by the authorities.
research done on this issue. I could get some leads but in most Political parties in Bangladesh continue to render lip service
cases I got no response from them. to street vendors, without doing anything concrete to improve
The next step was to contact the trade unions and NGOs their insecurity. For example, a news item in a popular daily in
working for street vendors. National Alliance of Street Vendors Dhaka newspaper had the following headline: "Huda assures
of India (NASVI) had organised a conference on street vendors hawkers to protect their rights".4 The report noted that while
in Asia for Streetnet (an international net work on street vendors) addressing a rally organised by Bangladesh Hawkers' Federation
in 2002. The list of participants was a fairly impressive I tried at Dhaka, barrister Nazmul Huda, communications minister,
contacting the organisations in the various countries, but here assured hawkers that he would provide them all support to protect
too I was not very successful. I was able to make contacts with their rights and continue their profession in the city. He added
some research institutes and NGOs in some of the countries.
that the government is 'pledge bound' to protect the human rights
of the
My main source of information was through the websites. I citizens. After these statements, the minister launched on
was able to access some documents and studies from an attack on the opposition saying that they wanted to disrupt
different websites. The local newspaper reports contained infor-
the developmentefforts of the ruling party and the people (hawkers)
mation on the activities of street vendors and the attitudes of should ensure that these people are not voted into power. It hence
the authorities (government, police and ULBs). After exploring appears that the hawkers were brought there mainly to support
all possible sources, one can conclude that though street vendinggovernment policies and not for any concrete legal benefits. This
is expanding rapidly, there is hardly any significant researchapproach
on is not unique to Bangladesh alone. In most countries
this issue that is easily accessible. There is an urgent need to the number of street vendors is large, the ruling parties
where
encourage more research on this important segment of the urban mobilise them for their political purposes. Due to their insecurity,
informal sector. street vendors tend to flock to these parties for protection. These
In the following sections, we shall summarise the data we haveparties use street vendors for their political gains, though the
on the different countries. In the concluding section we shallvendors themselves do not get any tangible benefits from this
attempt to synthesise the studies and information discussed in alliance.
the earlier sections with a view to compare the situation in these
countries. We shall also delineate the areas for further research.
Food Vendors
Country Studies Food vendors are an important feature in the cities of Bangladesh.
A paper by Qazi Saif Uddin Ahmad, social welfare and cultural
officer of Dhaka City Corporation5 provides interesting infor-
Bangladesh
mation on these vendors. He notes that the street food industry
The number of street vendors in Bangladesh is large. Dhaka provides employment to women and migrants with low educa-
tional background. The prices of street food are low and the urban
is the capital of Bangladesh and also its largest city. According
to the Dhaka City Corporation there are around 90,000 street poor benefit from this. Day labourers, rickshaw pullers, migrants
vendors in the city.1 They operate mainly in Motijheel, Baitulfrom rural areas and the homeless depend on street food vendors
Mukarram, Gulistan, Shahbagh and New Market Areas. Street for their nutrition. However, because of poor hygiene people
often fall ill after eating street food. They are mainly victims of
vending is considered an illegal trade and the street vendors face
constant harassment from the authorities. The vendors have to water borne diseases.
pay a sizeable part of their income as bribes in order to keep Ahmad feels that there must be cooperation between the
municipalities and the police for proper management of street
plying their trade. According to one report,2 vendors in the New
Market area pay Tk 2,00,000 a month to a gang that shares the food vending. He suggests that municipalities can formulate rules
and regulations for the management of street food vending, but
collection with the law-enforcement agency. Each vendor in this
these need to be enforced by the police. Hence the need for co-
area pays around Tk 200 a month to run their business. In other
areas such as Baitul Mukarram, GPO and Purana Paltan vendorsoperation between the two authorities. How far this is feasible
pay the police Tk 5 daily to avoid harassment. is anyone's guess. It is the experience in India that such rules
According to the Bangladeshi delegates who had attended the only help increase rent-seeking among corrupt officials. They
Asian Regional Workshop on Street Vendors held on February may not help in improving hygiene.
10-12,2002 in Bodh Gaya, India,3 the street vendors of BangladeshA study conducted by the Intermediate Technology Develop-
were more vulnerable than those in the neighbouring countries ment Group6 on food vendors in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka notes
due to poverty, lack of space for vending and lack of awarenessthat as street vendors are in the informal sector, there is no
systematic documentation of the number of street food vendors.
about their rights. The positive aspect is that there is a fair level
of unionisation among them. There are several unions working Observations indicate that there are a substantive number of food
among street vendors. The most important is the Bangladesh vendors in the urban areas. Their ages range between 25 and 60
Hawkers' Federation as it is linked to the trade union federation years with a majority being in the age group of 30-40 years. The
of the ruling Bangladesh National Party. The federation has beenstudy recorded the employment history of the food vendors and
negotiating with the government for a policy on street vendors.found that their previous involvement in several urban-based,
The first step towards this direction is of forging alliances with irregular and low-paid activities that required hard manual
other trade unions of street vendors so that a national alliance labour pushed them into the street food business. These
emerges. This can in turn pressurise the government to takevendors
up do not always make much profit and they tend to move
the issue of a national policy for street vendors. However from
till one place to another to get better markets. The contribution
of women to this trade is significant. Though women do not
such a consensus emerges, the street vendors in Bangladesh will
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constitute a major section of food vendors in Dhaka, the male of the needs of the customers. "The food is relatively cheap and
vendors depend on the women in their household for preparing readily available. It is sometimes brought to the doorstep of the
the items for sale. customers and sold on credit as done by the vendors operating
The study notes that street food effectively meets the require-at Manning Market in Colombo."7
ments of a large section of the economically active urban popu- The income of food vendors is higher than that of other vendors.
lation. At the same time the vendors are frequently victimisedAccording to a report, "the average daily income of a street food
by the police, public health institutions, local government au- vendor is around Sri Lankan (SL) Rs 1,250 while the average
thorities etc. They are also denied institutional credit facilitiesdaily profit generated.. .is approximately SL Rs 575. Most street
that could help them increase their income. They have to relyfood vendors operate for an average of 25 days a month. Thi
exclusively on social networks for running their business. means that they are able to generate a monthly average incom
of SL Rs 31,250 and an average profit of SL Rs 14,375. In
Sri Lanka comparison, the monthly income in urban Sri Lanka is SL Rs
23,436 and the national monthly household income is SL Rs
13,036".8 This indicates that the contribution of street food
Street vendors in Sri Lanka appear to be in a slightly better
position than their counterparts in Bangladesh and India. Street
vendors to the country's economy is significant though they face
vending in most urban areas is not totally illegal and vendorssimilar problems as other street vendors, namely, lack of security
can ply their trade on the pavements by paying a daily tax and to
lack of institutional facilities.
the municipal council. On closer look we find that their fateThe is Colombo Municipality has tried to set up a model for street
no different from street vendors in other countries. Despite food vendors. According to Keerthi Mafasinghe,9 food inspec-
tor, Colombo Municipal Council, the municipality has organised
gaining some legal recognition, vendors are evicted if the municipal
council feels that they cause problems to the general public. a group
In of 35 food vendors called the Galle Face Green Food
most cases evicted vendors are not provided alternate sites.Vendors.
The Carts are provided by the municipality and they maintain
a high standard of hygiene. The activities of this group are
Sri Lankan delegates who participated in the 2002 Asian Regional
Workshop of Streetnet reported that not only did the street highlighted by the public health department as an ideal project.
vendors face evictions, the municipal authorities burn their stalls
during these drives. Bangkok (Thailand)
In its report of July 23, 2002, Sevanatha, an NGO wvJrking
The most observable fact about Bangkok is its street vendors.
for the empowerment of street vendors in Colombo, notes that
"the street hawkers of Colombo have had their livelihoods Almost every street in this city has street vendors selling an array
of items - clothes, curios, electronic items and a wide variety
threatened by the Colombo City planners' attempts to cleanse
of cooked
the city streets of the informal sector." These planners "keep to and raw food. In fact the food vendors of Bangkok
the outdated western concept that pavements are to be clearareandknown for their cheap but nutritious fare. For the local
clean for pedestrians whereas in the west and many Asian population,
cities the food stalls are an integral part of life in Bangkok,
particularly the makeshift restaurants. Hundreds of people rely
planners have realised the benefits of providing space for pave-
ment sellers and maintaining a lively inner city culture." on
Hencethem for a good meal at low costs.
The municipal authorities in Bangkok have demarcated sites
though street vendors have some recognition by the municipality
as they pay taxes, this does not necessarily provide them where
the street vendors can operate. There are 287 such sites in
security to carry out their trades. In most cases, provision of There are also 14 sites on private land. The sites officially
the city.
alternative space depends largely on how strongly their allotted
union for street vending are not sufficient for accommodating
can press for this demand. all street vendors. Moreover, these areas do not cover all sections
of the city and hence the customers are not catered to. This has
The delegates who participated in the above mentioned work-
led to street vendors operating in unauthorised areas. There are
shop, stated that it was possible to influence government policy
through trade unions of street vendors. It was through 407 sites where vendors conduct their business but these are
their
pressure that the government agreed to accommodate street unofficial areas. This means that the majority of street vendors
vendors in the World Market: Day and Night Bazaar. These in the city operate in sites that are unauthorised.
Street vending is an important source of income for the urban
vendors pay taxes to the municipality. The goods sold by street
vendors were cheaper than those offered by the big stores. poor. The author had visited some slums in Bangkok in May 2003
and found that most of the slum dwellers were engaged in street
According to Sevantha, there are 8,000 to 10,000 street vendors
in Colombo and most of them are located in the formalfood
cityhawking. The number of street vendors in the city increased
rapidly after the monetary crisis of 1998 that affected the group
centres. They are from urban poor settlements and street vending
is the only source of employment for these families. Women of and
countries known as the Asian tigers. Many of the workers who
lost their jobs as a result of the crisis and others who could not
children play active roles in this profession. The main problem
find
facing street vendors is lack of security in their livelihood andjobs, took to street vending as a source of livelihood.
lack of access to credit. An FAO study on street food vendors in south-east Asia ? notes
that in 1993 there were 6,040 street hawkers operating in the
Food Vendors city selling raw food stuff (vegetables, fruits, meat and sea food).
This represented around 30 per cent of the total street hawkers
at food
The above figures on street vendors do not include street that time. In other words, the total nurrber of street vendors
vendors, who form a large and significant part of the was around 19-20,000. When the FAO study was conducted in
urban
2001, it found that there were 26,000 food hawkers operating in
population. The project on food vendors conducted by Interme-
diate Technology Development Group, notes that the number the authorised
of areas. This means that the number of food vendors
food vendors in Colombo is fairly large and is increasing because
in the authorised areas was higher than the total number of street
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vendors in 1993. If we take into account the unauthorised areas, which hygiene, and nutrition. Between 1990 and 1996 the department
are much larger than the authorised areas, and the private sites, had trained more than 10,000 hawkers.
the number of street vendors in the city should be over 1,00,000. The composition of the city's street vending population is
The proliferation of food vendors in Bangkok is due to a number changing. There is an emergence of younger, better educated
of reasons. Firstly, there is a tradition among the population of street vendors.12 This change is attributed to the rising unemploy-
eating out. Hence food vendors form a part of the cultural ment that has put 13,000 graduates out ofjobs. Many of these have
traditions of the urban population. Secondly, rapid urbanisation taken to street vending. The change is more noticeable in food
as a result of migration from rural areas and the long hours of hawking. The variety of food offered is wider than the traditional
work for the low paid workers in the informal sector often leave fare earlier. The younger, educated food vendors are willing to
the urban poor with little time to cook proper meals. They thus experiment with new international dishes and this has increased
depend on street food vendors to provide them with cheap but their popularity. The government decided to upgrade the food
nutritious meals. Thirdly, food vendors attract the tourists who stalls in the densely populated residential areas. By 2003, 45 such
are on the look out for local variety of food. Fourthly, according centres were upgraded. Though the rents charged by the government
to the FAO study, "...low-income families purchase their food have increased, the street vendors still get a lot of clientele
(including fish) on a daily basis, since they don't have enough because the items they sell are cheaper than those sold in shops.
money to purchase large amounts of food." These people buy One significant fact about street vendors in Singapore is that
fish by the small dish in street markets. Sale of fish by the small over the past 30 years they have helped keep the cost of living
dish is a traditional service offered only by street food hawkers down since workers, students and the poorer sections depend
and the poor benefit by this. on them for their daily necessities, including their meals. This
Despite the service provided by street vendors to the general is true of other places as well but unfortunately the planners rarely
public, their contributions are not viewed in the same light by consider these contributions to the local economy.
the authorities. Street vendors, especially those in unauthorised
areas, are subject to frequent raids and evictions. In fact at one Kuala Lumpur13
time the government was thinking of passing a law banning street
vendors in Bangkok as they caused clogging of the pavements The significant feature about Malaysia is that it is one of the
and the streets. The famous traffic snarls of Bangkok are attrib- few countries in Asia that has given some form of recognition
uted to street vendors. There is no evidence that street vendors to street vendors. In 1990, Malaysia formulated the National
cause traffic problems, they operate from pavements and not Policy
on on Hawkers. This is a comprehensive plan to tackle the
social and economic problems associated with street vending.
the roads. In reality, the road space is not sufficient to accom-
modate the growing number of private vehicles and that is what Its implementation includes the provision of funds to support
credit schemes and training programmes for street vendors to
causes traffic problems. After the sky-rail was commissioned the
traffic problem, at least in areas where the rail operates, hasimprove their facilities. The regulation and control of street
lessened considerably as many car owners now prefer to take vendors is under the department of hawkers and petty traders
the sky-rail to their work places. (DHPT) established in 1986. The objectives of the department
The one odd feature about street vendors in Bangkok is that include the development, modernisation and management of the
they are not unionised. This seems surprising given their largestreet vendors in line with the objective of making Kuala Lumpur
numbers and the problems that they face from the authorities. a clean, healthy and beautiful city for the local people and tourists.
Perhaps unionisation could have got them protection to carry out As in the case of the other south-east Asian countries, the
their activities, recognition and possibly government support. number of street vendors in Kuala Lumpur has risen sharply since
the Asian financial crisis. According to DHTP the number of
Singapore licensed street vendors rose by 30 per cent between 1l4) and
2000. The total number of licensed street vendors in 2000 was
If we go by the reports of the hawkers' department of the nearly 35,000. In addition it was believed that there were more
government of Singapore, this must be the only country in the than 12,000 unlicensed street vendors operating. This figure
world where all street vendors are licensed. It is the duty of the
could be an underestimation as there is no proper survey on the
Hawkers' Department to check that there are no unlicensed actual number of street vendors in the city. The increase of
hawkers and issue licences to those wanting to hawk goods unlicensed
on street vendors is mainly because the DHPT has stopped
issuing licenses after 1996. The financial crises took place three
the pavements. As in most south-east Asian countries, in Singapore
too, food hawkers predominate. In 1971, a national programme years later and a number of people who had lost their jobs during
aimed at building food centres and markets to resettle licensed the time of the crises took to street vending.
street food hawkers was taken up. The programme provided basic The objective of the DHPT is to relocate street vendors, in
stall facilities and services such as piped potable water, electricity
the case of food hawkers, to food centres in buildingsor to central
sites. It also helps in designing vans for mobile hawking. Around
and garbage collection and disposal. By 1996, all street hawkers
had been completely resettled into food centres and markets.1l35 per cent of the total number of street vendors are food hawkers.
In 1988, there were 23,331 hawkers operating in 184 centres However
of there are other sites where street vendors can carry out
whom 18,878 were engaged in selling cooked food. At present their business. These are the densely populated residential areas
there are nearly 50,000 street vendors in this city-state. and the industrial estates. There are hardly any hawking sites in
these areas. More licences could be granted if this was done.
The hawkers' department plays an active role in ensuring that
Licensed street vendors have access to institutional credit as the
the hawkers keep their environment clean and do not place
government has provided funds for this. Training programmes
constraints on pedestrians. Its officials inspect all stalls and see
that they abide by the Environmental Public Health Act of 1968. are organised regularly for these vendors in which they are taught
It also organises regular training courses on food and personal about health and hygiene, business skills, accounts, etc. The
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DHPT organises some of these programmes and seeks the coop- He has lost patience after the failure of other moves to combat
eration of NGOs too. There are 60 NGOs engaged in this activity. illegal sellers. He plans teams of officials armed with plastic spray
The unlicensed street vendors do not get any of these benefits. bottles filled with kerosene to hit vendors' stalls without warning.
Human rights groups are criticising the measure, but Mr Fernando
The ethnic composition of street vendors has shown changes.
seems unconcerned about the fire safety aspect of dousing materials
In 1970 only 4.4 per cent of Malays were engaged in street
in flammable liquid. He is unhappy about the litter left behind
vending. Chinese constituted 80.8 per cent of the street vendors
by street sellers and occasional traffic jams they cause by blocking
while Indians constitbted 14.8 percent. Since 1980 the proportion streets, reports the Straits Times, quoting the Manila Standard
of Indians have reduced. In 2000 there were 11,170 (31 per cent) newspaper.
Malays, 20,812 (59.3 per cent) Chinese and 3,138 (9.0 per cent) Mr Fernando said: "They can run, but they can no longer sell their
Indians who were licenced street vendors. It is believed that this goods once we have sprayed these with gas. Eventually, they will
change is due to the licences issued by the DHPT as it preferred lose capital and stop illegal vending. People will no longer buy
to grant more licences to the indigenous Malay population. items that smell of, or are soaked in gasoline, particularly edible
goods" [Ananova: Story filed: 14:56 Sunday, August 11, 2002].
Manila Incidentally, Fernando is planning to contest for vice president
in the next elections. Another important parliamentarian who
Like Kuala Lumpur, Manila (comprising seven municipalities)
supports Fernando's moves to keep the city street clean is Ramon
has devised some plans for street vendors. The metropolis'
Magsaysay Jr, the son of the late president after whom the
business promotion and development office has a division known
Magsaysay award is named. Hence it is clear that though govern-
as the hawkers permit services. This division was created by city pretend to show sympathy to informal sector workers, they
ments
ordinance No 79-2 to receive, process, review, analyse applica-hardly ever translate their laws into practice.
tions for street vending. It has inspectors who are expectedThe to above view was reiterated by the two trade union leaders
regulate street trade and collect daily fees from regular (licensed)
who participated in the Streetnet regional conference. Maria
and other street vendors.14 The object it appears is increase Mercedes I Nicholas of Katinig, a federation of workers in the
revenue of the municipalities. informal sector, and Maria R Buanghug of Cebu City United
In 2001 the Philippines government took a decision to legalise
Vendors' Organisation, an affiliate of Katinig, spoke of how
street vending. The government decided to issue them identity despite laws, street vendors are victimised. Though there are laws
cards and allow them to ply their trade in certain areas. 15 This for
inove
legalising street vending, as discussed above, these are never
was taken to protect and uphold the rights of the informal sector.
implemented properly. Most vendors are not given licences. It
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the
was through Katinig's efforts that the government signed the MoU.
department of interior and local government, department of labour,
However since most of the street vendors were not regularised
department of trade and industry and the league of provinces.
by law, they are victims of police harassment and evictions.
According to the MoU, city and municipal governments should
Besides fighting for the rights of street vendors, the two unions
designate markets, vacant areas near markets, public parkshave
and also initiated cooperatives among them. The Kamansi
side streets as certified places. A head count of street vendors cooperative
would was initiated by the union at Cebu City. It provides
be made to register them as informal workers. The MoUloans also for hospitalisation and death assistance. In 2001 the as-
mentions that the vendors' associations would be encouraged to released was pesos 8.3 million. In general, in Philippines,
sistance
take on the responsibility of regulating street vendors by ensuring
women vendors are more easily unionised than the males.
cleanliness on the streets and proper hygiene for food vendors.
Despite all promises, the actual fate of street vendors in the Hanoi
Philippines, especially in Metro Manila where a third of the
country's vendors operate, is no better than in most of the other
Street vendors play an important role in urban Vietnam's
countries mentioned earlier. Though the promised head commerce.
count They provide a variety of low priced goods and
never took place, it is estimated that there are around 50,000 street
generate employment for a large number of people, especially
vendors in Metro Manila, most of whom are unregistered, women.
hence In the case of food vendors around 30 per cent are
illegal. The paper presented by Celerina F Sangil, recreation and
women.17 In 1989 the Vietnamese government adopted a law
welfare service officer, department of social welfare, government
on protection of people's health. A survey on food samples in
of Philippines16 mentions that according to the hawkers permit
Hanoi showed that 47 per cent were microbiologically unsafe.
services there are about 15,000 street vendors in the metropolitan
Within a few years the scene changed and 23.4 per cent of the
and only 5,000 of them are legal. Other reports show that food
thesevendors had changed their unhygienic practices. This was
figures are grossly under-estimated. done by regular surveillance of food vendors and by training them
The main problems faced by the street vendors is that there
in are
hygienic practices. The government has adopted two practices
no demarcated areas for them to operate. Street food vendors for do
ensuring safer street food, namely, monitoring street food
not have access to piped water and they are hence rendered illegal
vendors through a licensing system and educating and training
on health grounds. Street vendors are also blamed for the themfilth on hygiene.
on the pavements and for causing traffic problems. The attitudeA study by Darunee Tantiwiramanond18 notes that women are
of the government towards them can be gauged from a report, in the forefront of Vietnam's economy. To overcome high
quoted below, on the latest moves to get them off the streets.
unemployment, the government is focusing on promotion of the
formal sector. The progress is however not in keeping with the
Officials in the Philippines are planning to clear illegal street sellers
rising poverty. This seems to be the age-old fallacy of most
off pavements by spraying their goods with kerosene. Manila
Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando says the governments
move in developing countries. They seem to think that
the only way to overcome the unfavourable situation of the
will make the goods unsellable (sic) and soon make street vending
unprofitable. informal sector is by trying to expand the formal sector, instead
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of trying to introduce reforms in the informal sector. The informal USG study a majority of the street vendors in Phnom Pen
sector creates employment, fights poverty and subsidises urban per cent) are in the age group 30 to 60 years and most of t
living. Street vendors, especially in Hanoi, are an important (97 per cent) are women. These women represent the poor
component of this sector. they come from large families having 2 to 4 income ear
Tantiwiramanond's study finds half the women vendors are Cambodia has two poverty lines, the food poverty line and
young, below 29 years and a quarter of them are single. Most general poverty line. The food poverty line represents the
of them come form large poor families with at least five siblings. minimum required for basic food and nothing else. Those w
Though a majority of them have some education (up to 12 years) come under this line are the poorest. The poverty line represe
it is not sufficient to get secure employment. Street vending is those earning barely enough for meeting the needs of food, c
the major means of their survival. and shelter. Street vendors fall below the poverty line but
Most of the female vendors move from door to door carrying the food poverty line.
their wares in two baskets slung on two ends of a pole that is According to the USG study, the women have to put in h
carried on the shoulder. Most of them sell single items, i e, either work and have to spend around 12 to 13 hours a day at t
food (vegetable, eggs, processed foods) or household items. A work. They however feel that street vending gives them s
small proportion sells a combination of food and household respect as they do not have to depend on others (male mem
items. The male vendors on the other hand are engaged in motor of their family) for their sustenance. According to the stud
cycle repair or sale of higher priced goods such as personal Kusakabe, women vendors in Phnom Penh are from poor b
products, souvenirs etc. and their earnings are higher. grounds and have low levels of education. Street vending is
Women vendors face problems on the street, most of which only way they can earn a living with dignity. She finds that
are related to their sexuality. Tantiwiramanond notes that cus- women are less dependent on their husbands as they are the m
tomers often tease, disrespect or sometimes violate the human bread winners in the family. In most cases the husbands do
dignity of women vendors. There is also a social bias that women have regular jobs and because of 'male superiority' they do
cannot perform certain activities such as motor cycle repair, do housework, including taking care of the children's educa
polish shoes or work as taxi drivers at night. Moreover women Kusakabe finds that street vendors who are widowed or divor
are expected to look after the home which reduces the time tkey are not interested in finding husbands because they feel that
spend on vending. It also adds strain to their activities. are independent and do not need the support of males.
Tantiwiramanond's study notes that the sexual divide is very The USG study finds that a major motivation for wom
prevalent in Vietnamese society. There is a sexual division of vendors to earn more is to provide a decent education to th
labour through which certain types of work are designated to children. However their long hours of work outside the h
women and others to men. For example, he finds that even women leaves them little time to look into their children's studies. Mo
vendors feel sorry for male vendors who do door to door vending of the vendors said that though they could send their chil
by carrying two baskets strung on a pole as they feel that this to school they could not supervise their studies or their homew
is not a man's job. It is rather surprising to find such division as they were busy with their work.
of labour existing in a society that has, in the past, showed The main problem faced by street vendors is the non-rec
remarkable resistance to the super powers. nition of the existence of the informal sector. The street vend
Tantiwiramanond finds that Vietnam is a good case study to do not have any permanent places to sell their goods. They
understand the determination of people to struggle against all cannot retain regular customers. They are frequently harassed
odds not only for self-rule but also for building a different society. the police and the market security officials. The USG study n
Unfortunately the current policy neglects the needs of micro- that rent-seeking is high and the only way the women can
traders, especially women, in the informal sector. The street on the streets is by paying bribes to these officials. If they d
vendors are not unionised nor are there any NGOs working for pay their goods are confiscated or even destroyed. The study
their empowerment. He warns that such policies of neglect may found that some of the women vendors could sell more g
turn the creative urges of the poor to deviant behaviour. This if they had more space but this would mean more bribes w
is of course not the problem only of Vietnam but of most they could not afford to pay.
developing countries that are intolerant to street vendors. Access to credit is also a major problem for the women. T
either use their own savings to run their business or they bor
Cambodia from moneylenders at high rates of interest. In fact Kusak
notes that some of the street vendors she interviewed told her
The Kingdom of Cambodia (as it is now called), like
that theyits
worked for three reasons - to eat, to educate their
neighbour Vietnam, has seen a lot of political upheavals in and
children the to repay their debts.
recent past. Though there has been peace since 1997, Cambodia's
economy has been shattered and the government is almost bankrupt. Seoul21
Regular jobs, provided by the government, are few and not well-
paid. According to Urban Sector Group (USG), an NGO Theworking
government of South Korea, like most other governments
among slum dwellers and workers in the informal sector, 95 is
in Asia, per
insensitive to the problems of the urban poor. Street
vendors
cent of all employment is in the informal sector and 80 and slum dwellers are under constant attack by the
per cent
of the GDP is from this sector.19 government. Another peculiar feature about Korea is that the
government hires gangsters to evict street vendors and slum
Street vending is one of the important sources of employment
for the urban poor in Cambodia, especially women. There is no
dwellers. The Korean delegates at the first conference of Streetnet
estimate of the actual number of street vendors in Phnom Penh, held at Seoul (March 16-19, 2004) mentioned that
International
despite
the capital, or in the other towns. The data in this section changes in governments, the plight of street vendors
is based
on two studies conducted on women vendors.20 According to the
remained unchanged. According to the representative of Korean
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Congress of Trade Unions (KCTU), the main federation of trade Vendors in India (NASVI)22 organised a study on hawkers in
unions in Korea, 57 per cent of the workers are in the informal seven cities which included Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore,
sector at present. This sector accounts for the earnings of 70 per Bhubaneswar, Patna, Ahmedabad and Imphal. This could be
cent of the women workers and 60 per cent of the male workers taken as one of the more comprehensive studies on street vending.
in the country. Yet this sector is not recognised by the government. Two more studies were conducted on street vendors in Mumbai,
The economic crisis in Korea in 1998 resulted in massive besides the one by NASVI. In 1998, the Brihanmumbai Municipal
restructuring. As a result several workers in the formal sector Corporation
lost (BMC) commissioned Tata Institute of Social Sciences
their jobs and had to move to the informal sector. After the (TISS) and Youth for Voluntary Action and Unity (YUVA) to
Asian
financial crises the number of street vendors increased even more conduct a census of hawkers on municipal lands.23 In 2001,
and at present Seoul has around 8,00,000 street vendors. Faced SNDT Women's University, in collaboration with International
by constant harassment, the street vendors of Korea have formed Labour Organisation conducted a study on street vendors.24
a national alliance known as National Federation of Korean Street An interesting aspect of these studies is that they all find
Vendors (NFKSV). This federation estimates that the total number
common features among street vendors. Their earnings vary
of street vendors in Korea could number around 1 million, whichbetween Rs 50 and Rs 80 per day. Women earn between Rs 40
seems an inflated figure. However, the fact remains that streetand Rs 60 per day. They work under gruelling conditions for
vendors form an important component of Korea's work force long hours and are frequently harassed by the municipal authori-
and their problems should not be ignored by the government.ties and the police. The NASVI study found that around 20 per
The street vendors face problems especially during interna-
cent of their earnings are taken as rent by the authorities. In
Mumbai the annual collection of rent is around Rs 400 crore.
tional events taking place at Seoul. These are the times when
the street vendors are forcibly evicted by the authorities, aidedA study by Manushi in Delhi shows that the authorities rake in
by gangsters. In 1986 the first crackdown took place as the AsianRs 50 crore a day from street vendors and cycle rickshaw drivers.
Games were hosted in Seoul. This was followed by crackdowns The SNDT - ILO study on Mumbai found that around 85 per
in 1988 as the Olympics were being held then. Street vendors cent of the street vendors complained of stress related diseases
faced a similar situation in 2002 when the FIFA World Cup - migraine, hyper acidity, hyper tension and high blood pressure.
(football) tournament was held there. Street vendors' organisations A fairly high proportion of vendors were once workers in the
have reacted strongly to such evictions. The clashes between themformal sector and they had taken to street vending after they lost
and the authorities have been violent. The Korean street vendors their jobs. This proportion is higher in cities like Kolkata (50
per cent), Mumbai and Ahmedabad (30 per cent). These cities
appear to be more militant than their counterparts in other Asian
countries. This mainly comes as a reaction to the extremely harsh
were once centres of industry but during the past decade or two,
attitude of the government towards them. the large industries have shut down. A study by SEWA in
The street vendors have, on occasions, managed to negotiate Ahmedabad notes that half the laid-off textile workers in
with the government on specific problems. For example, after Ahmedabad have taken to street vending. The other vendors
the eviction drive for the Olympics, the street vendors' union mainly migrants from rural areas or from small towns who cam
to these cities to find employment. They could not find regu
negotiated with the local government for alternative space. This
jobs so they took to street vending.
was given to them in a street close to the Olympic stadium. Today
this area has become an important centre for hawkers' trade and In Delhi, the feminist journal Manushi, mentioned abo
has become an attraction for tourists. Similarly, Streetnet and conducted a study on street vendors which showed the sta
NFKSV were able to avert some of the major eviction drives reality of how these people are exploited and harassed by
authorities.25 This study provoked the prime minister to wr
that were to take place before the World Cup football tournament.
The Bodh Gaya regional conference of Streetnet passed a reso- to the Lt Governor of the union territory of Delhi to chan
lution urging the Korean government to take into account the the administration's oppressive policies on street vendors.
prime minister's office also issued a concept note on this sub
problems of street vendors. Later representatives of Streetnet and
NFKSV met the government representatives and convinced them which contained important guidelines.
that eviction of street vendors was not a solution. There are some interesting studies from town planners. Git
If the government continues to ignore the existence of Tiwari the and Dinesh Mohan, both of Indian Institute of Technolog
Delhi, have made significant contributions to research on
growing numbers of street vendors, the crisis is bound to increase.
It is therefore necessary to convince the government to take of apavement space, pollution control and use of road spa
positive view on street vendors and legalise their trade. Thiswithcan regard to street vending.28 They have shown that havi
street vendors near housing complexes reduces pollution leve
be done through negotiations but prior to that it will be necessary
to assess the actual number of people engaged in this trade.as Theresidents do not need to use cars or two-wheelers to bu
Korean representatives at the Streetnet International conferencetheir daily requirements as these are available literally at th
laid greater stress on this aspect. door steps.
The number of street vendors in Indian cities has increased The NASVI study found that the income of women vendors
sharply during the past few years, especially after 1991 when is lower than the men because mainly of two reasons. Most of
the women belonged to families that were poorer than those of
the policies relating to structural adjustment and liberalisation
were introduced. It is now estimated that around 2.5 per cent male street vendors so they had less capital to invest in their
of the urban population is engaged in this occupation. business. Secondly, they could not spend as much time on their
Studies on street vendors/hawkers are few and are focused work as the males because they had to take care of the home
mainly on some cities. In 2000, the National Alliance of Streetas well. Moreover in cities like Kolkata and Patna, women
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vendors were harassed by the male vendors and were not allowed increases with the shrinking of jobs in the formal sector and with
to sit on the pavements. In cities where they are unionised, as lack of gainful employment in rural areas. The rural unemployed
in Ahmedabad, their problems are not as acute. tend to move to the cities in search of employment. They usually
In Mumbai, the studies show that most of the women street possess low skills and have low levels of education. Both factors
vendors belong to families in which the male members were once make it almost impossible for them to find regular jobs in the
employed in better paid, secure jobs in the formal sector. They formal sector. Street vending is one of the few options they
were unemployed when their enterprises closed. Their wives took have for earning a living. Entry into this trade is easier
to street vending to make ends meet. because it does not require high skills and the capital involved
There is no clear picture of the number of women vendors, is low. This is seen in the case of Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam
except in Ahmedabad where around 40 per cent of the 80,000 and Cambodia.
street vendors are women. In other cities they are an invisible In the other countries, especially the 'Asian tigers' - Thailand,
category. The male vendors are more visible as they sell greater Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Korea - there was a rapid
varieties of goods - clothes, fruits, household items etc. Most increase in the number of street vendors after the monetary crisis
of the food vendors are males. The level of unionisation is higher of 1998. These countries faced severe economic crisis and many
among them and they are thus able to protect themselves better industries closed down rendering hundreds of thousands of work-
than the women vendors. There is therefore a need to make a ers unemployed. In India, the number of street vendors increased
proper assessment of women vendors. At a rough guess, they after the economic liberalisation policy was initiated in 1991.
The traditional industrial cities, such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad
should constitute 30 per cent of the total population. They are
mainly small vendors and they are hardly unionised (except inand Kolkata saw a decline in the formal sector as large factories
Ahmedabad). These factors add to their invisibility. closed down and started outsourcing to the small-scale industries.
A section of the workers in the formal sector, or their wives,
Food Vendors took to street vending after they lost their jobs.
Unfortunately, the governments in these countries have more
Studies of food vendors have been conducted by the FAO in refused to recognise street vending as a legal activity and
or less
some of the cities. These include Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, they in fact view these vendors as irritants to the city's develop-
Bangalore, and Kolkata. The Kolkata study, conducted by ment.
the Even in countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, which do
National Institute of Public Health and Hygiene, was thenot most have a large formal sector, the governments do not give legal
important one conducted to date. It looked into all aspects recognition
of to street vending. This is disappointing as the govern-
ments of both countries are ideologically committed to the interests
street food vending situation of the city, namely, type of vendors
of the working class, though in both countries street vendors are
and consumers; timing of operation, cost and profits, nutritive
harassed in the same manner as in the other 'pro-capitalist'
value, physical, chemical and detailed microbiological analysis
countries. As a result, street vendors in most Asian countries live
of all varieties of foods and water.26 One of its significant findings
a precarious existence as they face the constant threat of eviction
was that street foods in the city were both cheap and nutritious.
and destruction of their property.
A bowl of hot Chinese soup cost Rs 5 and provided 1,000 calories,
the cheapest form of calories. Moreover the study found that Malaysia, Philippines and India28 have policies for regulating
cooking in the open (in front of the consumers) ensured thatand
theprotecting street vendors. Of the three only Malaysia seems
food was fresh and unadulterated. to be sincere in implementing its policy. This is the only country
There are a few other studies that deal with important aspects where licensed street vendors (most of them are licensed) are
of street food vending. Mini Bhattacharyya Thakur's27 doctoral provided facilities for conducting their trade and the government
dissertation on street food vendors in Guwahati in north-east India
also provides credit facilities for them. In Singapore too the
highlights their role in providing cheap food to the people andcondition of street vendors is somewhat better. Though there is
no policy for street vendors, the state has tried to regularise all
their employment potential. She notes that the food vendors face
street vendors by providing them licences. This enables them to
the problem of capital. They depend mainly on loans from friends,
have proper stalls and maintain proper hygiene. Though Phil-
family or moneylenders to run their business. Even those that
are licensed rarely approach banks because of the huge paper
ippines has a national policy the government refuses to recognise
work involved in getting loans. most of the street vendors and it takes harsh measures to clear
them off the pavements. India too has recently framed a national
policy for street vendors which, if implemented, will provide
Summary and Conclusions
security to them. At present, the street vendors face constant
We have been able to collect information on street vendors harassment from the authorities and rent seeking is very high.
for most of the countries in Asia. The information presented isMost of the street vendors in Asia are not unionised. The reports
of the regional conference of Streetnet International show that
in no way comprehensive, covering all aspects of street vending.
Unfortunately there are not many studies on the socio-economic trade unions of street vendors are few. In most cases the larger,
conditions of street vendors in Asia and this is one of the main
mainstream, unions are not interested in drawing street vendors
into their folds. In fact most of the problems of the street vendors
handicaps of the present study. Moreover, there is little knowledge
of the actual number of street vendors in the various Asian are related to their lack of unionisation. The delegates from Asian
countries participating in the Streetnet conference all spoke of
countries. We shall summarise the main findings of this paper
lack of awareness among the street vendors of their rights.
in the next few paragraphs and try to raise the important common
issues. Unionisation would provide them with a common platform to
One of the noticeable features of the cities in Asia is the growing press for their rights and protect them. In this way they could
number of street vendors. The growth is mainly related to the intervene in policy matters relating to their right to carry on their
changes in the economy of these countries. Street vending activities. In general, street vendors are not represented in local
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bodies. SEWA as a union is an exception as it has been able Notes
to intervene in the policies of the municipal corporation in
Ahmedabad and also at the national level. It provides an example [This paper is based on a study the author had conducted for Women in
of how unionisation could benefit street vendors. Informal Employment: Organising, Globalising (WIEGO). The author is
grateful to WEIGO for granting him permission to publish the findings.]
Only two countries in Asia have federations or alliances of
street vendors. These are Korea and India. Both countries are I New Age Metro, August 17, 2003, www.newagebd.com
2 Ibid.
contrasts as far as the intervention to policies are concerned. In
3 Report of the Asian Regional Workshop on Street Vendors (held in Bodh
Korea the federation (NFKSV) was formed mainly to resist the Gaya, India, February 10-12, 2002), National Alliance of Street Vendors
oppression of the state. The battle lines between the two of
are
India and Streetnet. www. nasvi.org.in
clearly drawn and both are hostile to each other. The Korean
4 The Bangladesh Observer, Tuesday, September 9, 2003, Internet Edition,
www.bangladeshobserveronline.com
government appears unduly harsh on street vendors as it has
5 Qazi Saif Uddin Ahmed, 'Role of Dhaka City Corporation in Urban Food
spared no means to evict them. This must be the only country
Security'. Paper presented at The Regional Seminar on Feeding Asian
where the government hires gangsters to evict street vendors. This
Cities, November 27-30, 2000, Bangkok, Thailand.
makes it almost impossible for the federation to enter into a policy
6 Leonard Tedd, Susul Liyanarachchi, Ranjan Saha, Energy and Street
dialogue with the administration. Food, project conducted by Intermadiate Technology Development
In India, the National Alliance of Street Vendors of India Group and funded by DFID. http://www.itdg.org/docs/energy/
(NASVI) has been more successful. It has been able to intervene energy_and_street_foods_final_report_r7663.pdf
7 Ibid.
at the national level and at local levels in some cases to initiate
8 Slummary Findings, Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2002,
policy dialogues with the concerned authorities. Its greatestDepartment of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka, October 2002. Quoted
success has been the initiation of the national policy. in ibid.
9 Regional Seminar on Street Food Developmenet, Bangkok, Thailand,
Finally, it is necessary to summarise the condition of women
street vendors in these countries. Women vendors form the lowest September 29 - October 1, 1999, FAO Rome, 1999..
10 A F Medina Pizzali, Low Cost Fish Retailing Equipment and Facilities
rungs among street vendors. In most cases they take to this trade
in Large Urban Areas of South East Asia, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper
because of poverty and because the male members in the family No 405, FAO, Rome 2001.
do not have jobs. They are found in greater numbers in Vietnam http://www.fao/org/DOCREP/005/y2258E.htm
1 Ibid.
and Cambodia where they form the majority. In other countries
they form a lesser, but nonetheless significant, component. 12 Based on a report in Star Malaysia. May 18, 2003. www.singa
window.org/sw03/030518ss.htm
Unionisation among them is low and their incomes are also lower
13 The data on this section is collected from Medina Pizali, op cit, Re
than those of male vendors. In India most trade unions of street
Seminar on Street Food Development, op cit, and Norhaslina Has
vendors, with the exception of SEWA, tend to ignore them. There 'Accommodating the Street Hawkers into Modern Urban Managem
are a few instances of trade unions having a women's wing, as in Kuala Lumpur' paper submitted to the 39th IsoCaRP Congress, 2
in Bangladesh and India, but these do not play a significant role14 http://www.cityofmanila.com.ph/hawkers.htm
15 Sol Jose Vanzi, 'Metro Manila Street Vendors to be Legalised', Philip
in influencing the policies of that trade union. Their low income,
Headline News Online, June 28, 2001. http://www.seasite.niu.edu/v
double burden of having to work on the streets and look after
16 Regional Seminar on Street Food Development, op cit.
the home and low level of unionisation make them the invisible 17 ibid.
section of street vendors. 18 Darun Tantiwiramanond, 'Changing Gender Relations and Women in
In conclusion it can be said that though the Asian countries Micro Enterprises: The Street Vendors of Hanoi'.
http://www.2.century.edu/vietnam/lairson/Hanstrevend.htm
have witnessed an increase in street vendors, their governments
19 Francesca Agnello and Joanne Moller, 'Cambodia: Women Micro
are by and large indifferent to the specific needs of this sector. Entrepreneurs and their Business Needs', Urban Research Group,
Street vendors perform an important role in providing services November 2003 (Draft Report).
to the urban population, especially the poor. Their contributions
20 ibid and, Kyoko Kusakabe, 'Market Class and Gender Relations: A Case
are unfortunately hardly ever recognised by the governments. of Women Retail Traders in Phnom Penh', Inlternational Feminist
Journal of Politics, 5 (1), 2003.
Instead, the governments are more often than not hostile to them.
21 The section on Korea is based on the author's visit to Seoul for the
This is a result of a broader issue concerning the informal sector
Streetnet International conference in March 2004. He interviewed a large
as a whole. In most Asian countries the informal sector is very number of street vendors and functionaries of the unions then.
large and it constitutes the mainstay of the economy. Instead 22
of'Hawkers in the Urban Informal Sector: A Study of Street Vending in
protecting this sector and ensuring that its workers get their Seven Cities of India'. Conducted by Sharit K Bhowmik on behalf of
minimum dues, the governments are indifferent to their existence. National Alliance of Street Vendors of India. www.nasvi.org,
www.streetnet.org
Street vendors are an important part of the informal sector not
23 'Census of Hawkers on BMC Lands', R N Sharma, Tata Institute of Social
only because of their numbers but because of the crucial roles Sciences, Mumbai 1998.
they play in preserving this sector. The goods sold by street
24 'Study of Street Vendors in Mumbai', Report of the study conducted
vendors are usually consumed by those in the informal sector, by SNDT Women's University and ILO.
25 The Hindu, Delhi, June 26, 2001.
as they are cheap. Moreover, a significant amount of goods
28 See Seminar, July 2000 titled 'Street Vendors' www.seminarindia.org
produced by small industrial units in the informal sector is
26 Regional Seminar on Street Food Development, op cit.
marketed through them. In fact we have a situation where one
27 Mini Bhattachryya, 'Street Food Vending in Urban Guwahati: An
section of the urban poor (street vendors) helps the other sections Anthropological Appraisal', Unpublished PhD thesis, Gauhati University,
of the urban poor by providing them low priced goods and by 1997.
28 For a discussion on the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors/
marketing their products. Unfortunately, instead of recognising
Hawkers see Sharit Bhowmik, 'National Policy for Street Vendors',
their contributions to the economy, governments view street
Economic and Political Weekly, 38(16), April 19-25, 2003, pp 1543-46.
vendors as encroachers or criminals. 1
The policy can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Urban
Employment and Poverty Alleviation, Government of India. www.muepa/
Email: sharitb @ sociology.mu.ac.in nic.in
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