KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 19
Some activists, continuing their protest against the Kathmandu Metropolitan City's crackdown on street vendors, today started a new form of protest by standing for 77 hours outside the city hall in Bhrikutimandap.
The protest programmes spearheaded by activist Iih, against the KMC's action against under-privileged small street vendors, have been calling on the leadership to provide alternative business platforms or solutions to street vendors before shutting their business. Activists will stop the standing on Friday 6:00pm.
Activists called on mayor Balendra Shah to fulfil the promises he made before being elected. Shah had promised to act in favour of the poor, create jobs and help reduce poverty. But, many are complaining that Mayor Shah is now favouring only his voters, and rich persons who are tax payers and ignoring the pleas of the poor.
Against this disparity, some activists like Iih have come forward staging series of protests.
"The protest is a call for alternative arrangements for street vendors as promised by the leadership during elections," Iih wrote on his social media account.
He also asked the metropolitan office to stop city police's brutality against street vendors and asked them to be more compassionate, accountable and proactive.
They have asked the KMC to make alternative arrangements for vendors like setting separate time, space and asking for nominal fees from people selling goods in cycles, push carts and street vendors.
The activists have called for compassionate, accountable and proactive governance that will create a livable Kathmandu for all residents and stakeholders.
The KMC has long been asking impoverished people to get a proper rented room to sell their products. But, most of such people lack investment fund to start business by hiring expensive shutters on the roadside in Kathmandu.
Mayor Shah has garnered support for projects like freeing sidewalks from encroachment, clearing parking on footpaths, forcing underground parking of private buildings to allow parking for public, clearing dangling and useless wires from utility poles, among others. Many of these steps were successfully implemented and were welcomed by people of all walks of life, but forcefully removing street vendors without providing them with options seems to be an uphill task for the city police who are trying to clear the city streets from such vendors for the last one year.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 20, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
