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VOLUME 8, ISSUE8(7), AUGUST2019

PROBLEMS OF STREET VENDORS IN PONDICHERRY

K Dhamodharan
Research Scholar, PhD (Law)
Department of Law Kalinga University, Raipur

Abstract

The street vendors are one of the constituent pillars of the giant
unorganised workforce. They are the self-employed category contributing a
significant share to the economy of each country. The street vendors across the
globe face many problems in the daily chores of their vending activities. The
street vendors are the visible workforce found everywhere selling goods and
commodities at a cheaper price in the convenient locations of the consumers.
Despite legal protection, issues against the street vendors are reported in media.
The present study is conducted to examine the socio-economic, working
conditions and problems of domestic workers in Pondicherry. The study is
conducted at Pondicherry. Sixty samples were drawn from the universe under
simple random sampling method. An interview schedule is used for primary data.
The results show that women are dominating the street vending trades. The major
problems include sexual harassment, physical evictions by the enforcement
authorities. The study concludes that the Government of Puducherry has
implemented more than 75% of the provisions of the Street Vendors Act. The
study ends with the concluding note that the Street Vendors Act is to be
implemented in letter and spirit to minimise the problems and issues against the
street vendors in Pondicherry.

Keywords: Street vendors, Unorganised sector, Unskilled, Sexual harassment,

Eviction

Introduction

The street vendors are the unorganised workers offering goods and
commodities to the public. Street vendors are the self-employed category of the
unorganised sector. Street vendors are the most deprived category self-employed
worker category (DebdulalSaha, 2011, p. xx) They sell almost everything starts
with vegetable, cooked food, fish, plastic items, electrical & electronics items,
garments and the list goes on. Street vending has been practised by both men and
women all over the world. Reliable data is not available as every day a new
vendor engage himself or herself as a street vendor and commence the vending

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activities in the place convenient to them. But the statistical records show that
women are more in numbers than men. They face many challenges in their daily
vending. Though the street vendors supply goods and commodities at
competitive prices, street vending is viewed as a nuisance (Yatmo, 2008)

Definition of Street vendor

According to Section 2 (l) of Street Vendors Act, 2014 “Street vendor”

means a person engaged in vending of articles, goods, wares, food items or
merchandise of everyday use or offering services to the general public, in a
street, lane, sidewalk, footpath, pavement, public park or any other public place
or private area, from a temporary built-up structure or by moving from place to
place and includes hawker, peddler, squatter and all other synonymous terms
which may be local or region-specific; and the words “street vending” with their
grammatical variations and cognate expressions, shall be construed accordingly;
“Street vendors are classified as Mobile vendors and Static vendors. The mobile
vendors move from place to place and sell their goods and commodities. The
static vendors remain in a fixed place and sell their products to the public

Contribution of street vendors

Street vending is an important source of employment for many unskilled
men and women from rural to urban backgrounds (Tshuma and Jari 2013). It is a
boon for the rural poor to generate employment (Mishra,2011). Street vending
will be increasing and the demand for space will also expand in
future(RamanathJha, 2016). According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Poverty Alleviation, there are approximately 10 million street vendors in India
(2019, September 27) (Bhowmik, 2001) RamanathJha. (2018) reports that the
statistical estimation of street vendors are different and conflicting as “The Street
Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014”
calculates a maximum of 2.5 percent of a city’s population as street vendors
while the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors (2009) estimates the street
vendors as 10 million.

Problems of Street vendors

The street vendors in their daily vending activities encounter various
problems. The street vendors mainly draw from the marginalised illiterate
groups. They often migrate to the towns and cities due to poverty and failure to
get prospective employment locally. Once they migrate the issue of
accommodation and adjustment creep in. They live in low-cost houses with
limited facilities around the vending zones. In some other cases, they reside far
from the town limits and depend on the public transport system. Being new to the

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migrated area the street vendors are to adjust with local goondas and unlawful
elements who exhort money from them. It is very hard for them to get loans from
the Banks due to the procedure involved. Many street vendors borrow money
from money lenders and return the principal amount on a daily sales basis on
higher interest rates. The perishable goods if any unsold bring loss to the vendors
as there are no storing places to perishable goods. They are not regulated by the
laws until 2014. After a long struggle the “Street Vendors (Protection of
Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.” was enacted by the
Government of India. Street vendors were not considered as “worker” as there
are no employer-employee relations. Social security measures are not provided to
them. Transportation and storage is a big issue for street vendors. Now after
passing the Act, they are entitled to some social security measures, but the
problem is till now many states in India are not fully implemented the Act. At the
implementing stage, many street vendors are to be relocated depending on the
vending zones which causes inconvenience to continue in the primary zones
where familiar consumers depend on the concerned street vendor. Organising the
street vendors is a big task for the Unions. The working hours are long and they
have no toilet facilities. Women vendors are sexually harassed and abused. They
are evicted repeatedly by the enforcement and municipal authorities and the
confiscated goods are not returned many times. Regular bribing and extortion are
part of their occupational hazards. Despite all these problems, street vendors
cater to the needs of various sects of consumers. Central Unions like CITU and
the National Association of Street Vendors Associations (NASVI) playing a
pivotal role in organising them. Despite their initiative, many numbers of street
vendors are yet to join as a member of the union.

Literature Review

Doibale, M. K., Mohite, S. D., Sawase, G. B., &Pagadal, P. H. (2019) in

their study of socio-demographic profile and causes of street vending in an urban
area, Aurangabad, Maharashtra found that one-fourth of the street vendors
experience health problems associated with their work. ParikshitChakraborty,
&SamarpitaKoley (2018) in their study found that the street vendors working
conditions and the working environment is very poor. They also face problems in
the absence of shelters and storage space (Kurniawati, W. 2012). Saha, (2009) in
his study stated that the street vendors are typically treated as encroachers of
public space and are considered as unlawful face the harassment of police and
enforcement authorities. Mkhize (2013), in his study, found that the street
vendors are harassed, assaulted and their goods confiscated by urban authorities,
Hasam, 2015) Hard work, meagre income place most of the street vendors as
indebted. They have been bribing many people to run their business.

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Channamma K C (2010) in her study found that women vendors are mainly
engaged in fruit, vegetable and flowers vending which are perishable bring loss if
left unsold. Women constitute about forty per cent of the total street vendors and
thirty per cent of them are the sole earning members of their family (Government
of India, 2009; Geetika, et al, 2011)

Research Methodology

Statement of the Problem

The street vendors face various problems in their vending chores. The
magnitude and the dimensions of the problem vary from vendor to vendors
depending on certain factors. Some of the review of the literature on street
vendors which is presented here portrays the appalling conditions of the street
vendors. The Government of India, to protect and promote the rights and
interests of the street vendors had enacted “Street Vendors (Protection of
Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.” The Act intends to
regulate the street vending does not bring desired change in the livelihood of the
street vendors in Pondicherry. Hence the present study is conducted to examine
the socio-economic, working conditions and to analyse various problems of the
street vendors in Pondicherry.

Objectives of the study

The study is conducted with the following objectives
1. To study the socio-economic profile of the street vendors in Pondicherry
2. The examine the implementation of the Street Vendors Act 2014 in Union
Territory of Puducherry
3. To examine the problems faced by the Street Vendors.
4. To understand the gender-based issues and violence against the Women
Vendors.
5. To suggest suitable measures to improve the conditions of the street vendors
in Pondicherry.

Need and importance of the study

Though street vendors contribute a significant share to the national economy,
they are not considered as a worker and are systematically eliminated from the
application of Labour Laws of the land. A few studies are conducted on street
vendors in Pondicherry. But the studies failed to examine the inner realities and
implementation of the Laws relating to street vendors and their impact on
minimising the problems of street vendors. Hence the present study is unique as
in intends to fill the gap left in the earlier studies.

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Research Design
The study is a descriptive type of study. In any Research the Research
design plays a dominant role. It is a blueprint in the edifice of the Research. It
shows the direction to the Researchers to choose the right path of the research. In
the research design, a systematic approach is formulated making provisions for
various steps to be followed by the researchers. For the present study, the
Descriptive method is adopted.

Profile of the Study Area

Pondicherry is the capital of the Union Territory of the state Puducherry
located in the south-east coast of India with Tamilnadu boundaries. It is located
in the Pondicherry district. The Pondicherry municipality comprises 42 wards. It
is one of the clean cities in India. Pondicherry is the French colony ceded to India
blended with its architecture during 1962.with 492 square miles area. Hindus are
dominating in the state capital of Puducherry while Muslims are living in large
numbers in Karaikal. The famous Aurobindo Ashram was established in 1872
stands as a monumental centre for religious retreater Shri Aurobinodji in India.

Scope of the study

The present study focusses the socio-economic working conditions and
problems of the street vendors in Pondicherry. The study covered the following
street in which the street vendors are concentrated. Samples were drawn from the
vendors moving and static at the above street
1. Mahatma Gandhi Road
2. Jawaharlal Nehru Street
3. Mission Street
4. Aurobindo Street

Sampling method
For the purpose, the entire universe is stratified into four units consisting
of above said major streets in busy Pondicherry. It is roughly estimated as 240
and 25 % of the universe population is taken as sample size. Accordingly, 60
samples were drawn under simple random sampling method.
Data collection
The primary data is collected from the street vendors engaged in vending
activities in four streets of Pondicherry. A structured interview schedule
consisting of the closed-ended questions on socio-economic working conditions
and problems related to the street vendors are incorporated to elicit information
from the street vendors. Secondary data were collected from printed books and
internet resources All the data were statistically analysed with the appropriate
statistical tools.All the collected data from the sixty respondents are codified and

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tabulated. By the use of the SPSS package, the statistical test required for the
study is done and analysed with necessary diagrams and charts.

Limitations of the study

The study is conducted as a Pilot study to PhD Research work with
limited samples of 60 from four streets of Pondicherry due to time constraint.
Hence while generalising the results adequate care to be taken. Also, some of the
respondents are afraid to furnish the correct information on sexual harassment
and other issues. This is a micro-level study to get first-hand information for
developing an appropriate strategy for future research.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

For meaningful analysis of Research problem, the data collected from the
respondents are to be analysed with appropriate statistical tools. In this section,
the information obtained from the 60 respondents were analysed

Table .1 Gender and Age of the Respondents

Per FemalePercent Total Per
Age (Years) Male
cent cent
Not completed 14 2 3.33 3 5.00
1 1.67
years
15 years - 18 years 2 3.33 3 5.0 5 8.33
19 years - 30 years 6 10.0 6 10.0 12 20.0
31 years - 40years 7 11.67 5 8.33 12 20.0
41 years – 50years 6 10.0 6 10.0 12 20.0
51 years - 60 years 5 8.33 7 11.67 12 20.0
Above 60 years 1 1.67 3 5.0 4 6.67
Total 28 46.67 32 53.33 60 100
Total 46.67 53.33 100
Source: Primary data

From Table No: 1 It is seen that more women are engaged in street
vending activities. Women in the busy streets of Pondicherry sells the mostly the
perishable goods like vegetables, greens, fruits, fish. The percentage of the men
engaged in street vending is comparatively less than the women. The women
vendors are mostly mobile vendors who move from place to place either carrying
the goods on their heads or through pushcarts. They cover a limited number of
streets and return home after the specified area. There is more number of women
engaged in part-time vending. These women complete the vending early in the
morning and leave their home and perform their role in their houses as an unpaid
domestic worker. Usually, these multiple roles played by women is taken into

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account for statistical purpose. There are considerable men engaged in part-time
street vending and the typical example is newspapers vendor who delivers the
paper before 7 am.
Table 2 Religion & Caste of the Respondents
Religion MaleFemale Total Percent SC/ST BC Others
Hindu 17 23 40 66.67 18 14 08
Muslim 04 03 07 11.67 - 03 04
Christian 07 06 13 21.66 8 04 01
Others 00 00 00 00
60 100 26 21 13
Total 28 32
(43.3% (35%) (21.67%)

Source:Primary Data
From the Table showing the religion of the respondents, the Hindus are
dominating in the street vending business. Though Muslims and Christian are
engaged in specific vending activities, their percentage is very less. The
percentage of SC/ST is considerably higher than the backward class vendors.
Table 3. Monthly Income of Respondent
5001 - 10001 - 15001 - Above Total
Less than 5000
10000 15000 20000 20000
Male 11 14 3 - - 28
Female 14 18 - - - 32
Total 25 32 3 60
Percent 41.67% 53.33% 5% 100%
Source: Primary Data
From the table showing the monthly income of the respondents, it is seen
that majority of the respondents are earning Rs 5000-10000 per month. Only 5%
of the respondents are earning more than 10,000 per month. None of the
respondents is drawing above 15000 in street vending in Pondicherry.

Findings, Suggestions, and Conclusion

Implementation of the Street Vendors Act 2014

The Union Territory of Puducherry in continuation of the Central Act
“Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending)
Act, 2014.” had enacted “Puducherrt Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood
and Regulation of Street Vending)Rules 2017 and started implementing the Act
from 2017. The Government of Puducherry had constituted the “Town Vending
Committees” following Section 5 of the above Rules.The street vending
committee had made an extensive survey of the street vendors and the process of

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issue of certificate vending the street vendors continue. Apart from the above, the
Government has been arranging skill development programme for the street
vendors in Puducherry.Street vendors are encouraged to access the basic banking
services for availing the credit facilities for their vending business.The
Government of Puducherry is also initiating the social security measures through
Government schemes like RashtriyaSwasthyaBimaYojana. Around 50 % of the
street vendors were issued the ID cards by the street vending Committee.
Findings
The study identified that 5 % of boys and girls in the age group 14- 18
are either engaged themselves as street vendors or assisting their parents in their
street vending business. The right to education guaranteed under the constitution
is greatly affected in the case of child vendors. Among the street vendors, 53.3 %
of them are women and 61% of them are engaged in perishable goods. Majority
of the street vendors earn Rs 300-400 per day in their vending activities.
Interestingly 5 % of the women above the age of 60 are also engaged in street
vending while the male counterpart is 2 %. 78 % of the respondents are married
and living with a spouse. Majority of the street vendors reported that the
education of their children is not affected due to their vending. Among the 53.3
% of the women vendors, 67% of the vendors reported that they have one or
more health issues. Around 68% of the regular vendors are enumerated by the
municipal administration and the rest are left as they move around as mobile
vendor. 50 % of the street vendors are provided with the ID cards. 37% of the
vendors reported that they face problems in vending space and 42% of the
vendors stated that they are to bribe police and other enforcement officials
periodically. 39 % of the respondents accuse the enforcement authorities of the
illegal eviction process and confiscation of their goods and commodities. 41 % of
women vendors state that they face issues of sexual harassment at vending sites.
Only 19 % of the women vendors have reported the incident of sexual
harassment to the appropriate authorities. The women vendors besides the sexual
harassment are facing domestic violence (32%) which causes much hardship in
their work-life. Despite the problems, 52% of the respondents are satisfied with
their present vending activities. The study found that the majority of the street
vendors are indebted and the Socio-Economic conditions have not altered their
life to the desired level despite the enactment of the Street Vendors Act, 2014.
Suggestions and Conclusion
The conditions of street vendors in Pondicherry are in the contemptible
state. The major issue of the street vendors is adequate vending space and
regulation of the vending space by the municipal authorities. The Government of
Puducherry has started implementing the provisions of the Street vending Act,
2014. From the Government of India report, the state is pioneering in the
implementation in the country as almost 75 % of Act is implemented. If the Act

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completely implemented most of the problems would come to an end. The

vending zones may be regulated and the town vending committee shall be vested
with the power of relocating the vendors from the vending zones will put an end
to unlawful evictions and illegal confiscations. The women vendors are to be
sensitised in various issues through awareness building which will empower
them in combating the sexual harassment and other violence against them.

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