We had second successful Mass Mobilization Activity in Jaipur on Saturday, August 14. We did this activity in Shyam Nagar Market, Sodala. This time we had more local street vendors’ leaders participating and sharing their view with street vendors and common masses. There were around 100 people watching the street play which portrayed the problems of the lives of street vendors & solutions and listening to us on National Urban Street Vendors. We distribute pamphlets about the policy and talked about the provisions of the policy and how this can be one solution to all the problems. We urged them to be part of the campaign to put pressure on government to implement the policy/bill as soon as possible. Senior street vendors’ leader Mr. Nathu Singh Rathore also joined us apart from other several leader from different markets of Jaipur.

The global meltdown has affected everyone’s lives these days. All we hear are discussions on how to tackle the ever-increasing price-rise and how to survive on a fairly decent salary. But have we ever considered how people in the informal sector, especially those at the entry level, cope with these issues?

For instance, does anyone know that a cobbler in Amritsar has to pay Rs 1,000 just to obtain a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Municipal Town Planners? And a Dhaba owner in the same city has to procure an NOC from his neighbors as well as from the departments of Municipal Town Planner (MTP), the Fire Brigade, House Tax and Water Supply and Sewerage Department before he can even apply for a license? Coming to Thiruvananthapuram, an interesting fact found is that although there is an existing plan, the renewal fees for most informal trades, and the license fees for some, depend upon the annual income of the shop!

Such details, not really known to the public, were brought to light by the Law, Liberty and Livelihood Project, a study conducted by Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) and Centre for Civil Society (CCS). The project which was aimed at documenting the livelihood regulations and entry level barriers in the informal sector was conducted in 63 cities across India with the help of young interns.

The purpose of the study aimed at unveiling laws applicable to entry-level professions like cycle-rickshaw pullers, mobile and stationery street vendors, butchers, vegetable-sellers, and to document them with the effort to create public attention to issues faced by common poor citizen of India. The data collected is uploaded on a website www.livelihoodfreedom.in.

Mr. Amit Chandra, Campaign Coordinator, CCS brief about the objective of the Study. He said, “we are releasing the study and going to start a mass mobilization activity in Jaipur to change some of the rules which restricts urban poor from earning an honest living”. Mr. M. L. Mehta, Former Chief Secretary of Rajasthan released the study. Mr. Rakesh Tripathi, Nidan, Patna, Ghanshyam Kotwani, Secretary National association of Street vendors of India (NASVI) and others were present at this occasion.

Please contact Mr. Amit Chandra at 09784258630 or amit@ccs.in for more information.

We are organizing a press conference to release the Livelihood Regulations Study & mark the starting of Mass Mobilization Activity on August 9, Monday, Press Club, 54 Narain Singh Circle, 4 to 5 PM. Mr. M. L. Mehta, Former Chief Secretary of Rajasthan has graciously agreed to release the study.

Please accept invitation of the program. Your presence and participation would be highly encouraging for us. Don’t hesitate to contact my colleague Mr. Amit Kumar Gond (agond9@gmail.com, +91 9351781458) at any point of time if you require more information.

It is to inform you that we are postponing our mass mobilization activity for some unforeseen reasons. We will come back with the revised schedule of the program soon.

We apology for inconvenience caused to you. Please contact Mr Amit Chandra at + 91 9784258630 for further information regarding the activity.

As a part of the Jeevika: Law, Liberty & Livelihood Campaign CCS organized a Mass Awareness and Mobilization Activity in 17 No. Market, Badhana Road, Vishwakarma Industrial Area for creating an environment which is conducive enough for the government to implement Policy/Bill on Urban Street Vendors in 17 No Street Market, VKIA at 6 PM with the participation of street vendors of the market and active citizens of the area. The activity started with a street play portraying the problems of street vendors and the provisions under street vendors’ policy to solve those. The street play was followed by talks by local vendors’ leaders and other influencing people of the community. There was a crowd of around 100 people who stayed there to know about the solution of problems faced by street vendors and others on the street. It was overwhelming to see the response of street

vendors who found the play very touching and then carefully listed to the talks knowing how the policy can solve their problems. Now the street vendors have started talking about the possible action needed to be taken to get the policy implemented.

Mr. Amit Chandra, the Campaign Coordinator of Centre for Civil Society talked about the provisions of the policy and how it will be beneficial for street vendors as well as pedestrians and other stake holders on the street. Mr. Ghanshyam Kotwani, Executive Member of National Alliance of Street Vendors of India talked about the stigma of traffic hazard attached to street vendors and the need to get out of this mindset. Mr. Babulal Ramchandani, representative of Jaipur Mahanagar Thadi Thela Footpath Vyawasayi Union at the gathering briefed the crowed about the status of policy in Jaipur Municipal Corporation.

We are going to focus on working towards creating an environment which is conducive enough for the government to implement policy/bill on urban street vendors. For this we have planned to run a mass mobilization activity in different parts of Jaipur. The activity would start with a street play and followed by talks by local vendor leaders and other influencing people of the community. We plan to conduct 20 such activities touching all the corners of Jaipur. The activity would last for around 40 mins to 60 mins depending on the response of the people.

Here is the schedule of first four activities in Jaipur:

17 No. Market: Wednesday, 21 July, 6 PM

Chandani Chowk: Sunday, 25 July, 6 PM

Choti Chopar: Thursday, 29 July, 6 PM

Ramganj: Sunday, 01 August, 6 PM

We will decide the dates, place and time of rest of the activities as we move on. You all are invited to join us in this mass mobilization activity.

You can also help us in letting more and more people know about this event by simply passing a word to the people in your contact. Your presence would be highly encouraging for all of us.

Centre for Civil Society under it’s ‘Jeevika: Law, Liberty & Livelihood Campaign’ formed a Human Chain urging the government to protect the honest livelihood of poor working in informal sector in partnership with Great India Dream Foundation, Pravah Jaipur Initiative, AIESEC, Rajasthan Abhyudaya Sanstha, National Association of Street Vendors of India and Jaipur Mahanagar Thdai Thela Footpath Vyawasayi Union, at Jal Mahal at 6 PM. Active Citizens of Jaipur and Youth Students of Different colleges also joined the Human Chain.

Mr. Amit Chandra, the Campaign Coordinator of Centre for Civil Society said, “The participation of citizen and youth is very crucial for bringing any kind of social change. We wanted to bring the common citizen out to stand for the livelihood and create a positive environment to enable government to reform the informal sector. Policy reform would ensure protection of livelihood and financial as well as welfare services to the poor working in informal sector such as street vendors, food dhabas, barbars, cycle rickshaw pullers to name a few. The message that we want to pass on to government, media and people is that the street vendors have traditionally been part of social and cultural India and we need to protect this tradition similarly as we have preserved our heritages such as Jal Mahal”.

Mr. Ghanshyam Kotwani, Executive Member of National Alliance of Street Vendors of India said, “Street Vendors have to face natural hardships such as rain, sun and cold but they brave it because they have no other alternatives but what really creates problem is the continuous threat and torture of authorities. The stigma attached to us as traffic hazard is also not right. We should be seen as service providers and the one who brings colour, convenience and taste to the life of festival city, Jaipur.”

Mr. Babulal Ramchandani, representative of Jaipur Mahanagar Thadi Thela Footpath Vyawasayi Union at the gathering said, “The Rajasthan Government had introduced a policy for welfare and rehabilitation of street vendors named Pheriwalon Ka Sansar in 2007 which is in effect till date but the Jaipur Municipal Corporation hasn’t implemented this policy. Once the policy is implemented there wouldn’t be a problem of vending and hawking in the city.”

A street play was also done at the beginning of the program showing the hardships of the life of a street vendor. It brought lot of tourists also to come forward and share their view about the issue after which the gathering of around 500 people formed human chain in different shapes and sizes in a very creative and attractive way.

The event was coordinated by Ms. Meenu Nagpal and thank you note was given by Mr. Nitin Dixit at the end.

Read the complete concept note. Download the press release.

One of the biggest chunks of Unorganised Sector is Street Vendors who are under constant exploitation by the authorities and compelled to live under forced poverty. Street vendors are often those who are unable to get regular jobs in the remunerative formal sector on account of their low level of education and skills. However, they contribute significantly in the budget of every household specifically middle class family by providing ‘affordable’ as well as ‘convenient’ services by their self generated means of employment by vending or hawking. It has been seen that public authorities often regard street vendors as a nuisance and as encroachers of sidewalks and pavements and do not appreciate the valuable services that street vendors render to the common man. Street Vendors have also existed since ancient time and are part of social and cultural fabric of India. They are the one who are keeping the local art, culture and tradition alive for a long time and create the mood of festivity to make India, Incredible India.

As a part of the campaign we plan to work with active responsible citizens of Jaipur for sensitizing the common masses. In this regard we are plan to organize a Human Chain on June 29, 2010 at Jal Mahal at 6 PM with the participation of active civilians of Jaipur to raise a voice for the poor section of the society to provide them a legal status and to make them an advantaged group of the services that the other formal sector receives as the part of the society. Your active participation will highly encourage and motivate people to work for this noble cause with more enthusiasm and would also bring attention of other civil society organizations to come out for this noble cause of protecting livelihood of urban poor. Read the complete concept note.