Vending Zones – Bhubaneshwar

Bhubaneshwar Municipal Corporation already constructed vending zones such as Khandagiri, CRPF, and Cosmopolitan vending zones under the Mukta Scheme. These vending zones have a stall for food and non-food vendors, open spaces (covered by a
shed) for vegetable and fruit sellers, drinking water facility, toilets for men and women, electricity, water connectivity, beautiful street lights, seating areas for customers. These vending zones are designed with Pattachitra, Saura (Tribal Designs) and beautified with plantations. This is a good example for another municipal corporations who has not yet set up or thinking about vending zones for street vendors. BMC also set up the women vending zone at Cosmopolitan area.

Women vending zone: In Bhubaneshwar near the cosmopolitan area, BMC set up a Women Vending zone for women street vendors and Self-help groups under the Mukta Scheme.

NASVI’s Advocacy : NASVI requested the Municipal Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation to arrange Town Vending Committee meeting before August 31, 2024 which is still pending from the last two years, and pass resolutions on below mention points.

1. Conduct street vendors survey immediately, which has been pending since 2019.
2. Until the survey is completed, renew the previous certificates of vending (COV) of street vendors and issue Identity cards to them. And after the survey done provide COV and ID cards to identified street vendors in the survey.
3. Provide basic amenities to the existing vending zones in Bhubaneshwar, such as drinking water, street lights and toilets
4. The establishment of new vending zones in Bhuvaneshwar for surveyed street vendors.
5. Allotment of vacant vending zone to evicted street vendors immediately. We were trying to meet the Municipal Commissioner during our Bhubaneshwar visit, but due to the unavailability of the commissioner, we didn’t meet. We sent one demand letter to the commissioner on the above-mentioned demands.
   

We met Mr. Ajay Mohanty, Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, regarding the Street Vendor Survey, COV, and vending zone. He assured us to arrange a TVC meeting at the end of August and make an action plan for the survey. After the survey, we will distribute COV and vending zones he said.

Due to NASVIs efforts BMC started allotting vacant vending zones to street vendors through lottery system and till date allotted CRPF vending zone and Khandagiri vending zone to street vendors.