Wanted : Policy for street vendors Miserable failure of Govt

It is stupefying that at one point of time the State Government talked about taking Imphal to the coveted list of Smart Cities when it was amongst the cities named for the Smart Cities Mission in India but conveniently forgot to acknowledge that making a city smart is something much more than stating something that sounds good to the ear. Smart water supply, smart power supply, smart drainage system, smart waste disposal, in fact smart in everything, that is what one expects from a place vying to be a Smart City and does Imphal come anywhere near this understanding of a smart city ? Not a tough question to answer and anyone who has even the faintest idea of the pipes that connect to the main water pipe to supply water, the on and off power supply, the clogged nullahs and localised flooding everytime the sky opens up, the potholes filled roads will know where to place Imphal. Surviving Manipur and to be more specific, surviving Imphal, this is the line that comes to mind when any talk veers towards urban amenities. One does not need to look far to get a glimpse of the ugly reality that is Imphal and just picturise the ISBT, plum in the heart of Imphal. In the first place, the location of the ISBT is totally wrong for it should have been located at the periphery of the capital city. Making things worse is the mud and slush that now defines ISBT and so pathetic is its state that passenger vehicles such as buses and Tata Wingers no longer drop or pick up passengers from within the complex but outside. And such a state dates a long time back, much before Manipur went up in flames in the evening of May 3, 2023. It was during the Covid pandemic that goods trucks had to report to the ISBT, get the health status of the drivers and the helpers confirmed and go about with the works entrusted to them. The intense pressure on the ISBT during the pandemic is well known, but it is also well known that nothing of much substance was taken to repair the dilapidated state after things normalised. This is but just one example that comes to mind immediately, and the larger question is what steps the Government has taken up to take Imphal anywhere nearer to the understanding of a Smart City ? The present state of Imphal is the answer to what the State Government has taken up towards this end so far. Where urban amenities feature in the priority list of the Government of Manipur is clear, absolutely clear and making things worse is the state of street vendors who have raised their voice to demand that the Government at least formulate a comprehensive policy for them. Apart from the filth, the dirt and grime that one sees at the market place of Imphal, it is also a common sight to see over enthusiastic cops going on the offensive, dispersing their goods and shooing them off on an almost daily basis.
Roadside vendors are a reality today and the Government cannot afford to look the other way and pretend that this is something alien to the understanding of Imphal.  It was with a reason why the Government of India enacted the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood of Street Vendors) Act back in 2014, and the question is whether Manipur has adopted this Act or not. Or whether Imphal has worked out any other modalities to deal with the street vendors, for it is about their right to earn a livelihood. The call of the Roadside Vendors’ Welfare Association and the Salai Taret Apunba Nupi Samaj Lup to the Government to work out a policy for the street vendors should tell so many things. In a way this means that successive Governments down the years, since 2014, have been sleeping over the fate of the street vendors, despite the presence of an Act and this should say so many things. Has the State Government gotten down to the task of working out something which can work for the street vendors of Manipur ? Has the Government given any thought on opening markets at other places so that not everybody need to head to Khwairamband Keithel to buy anything ? Or if the Government has worked out any policy for the street vendors has it been given the due publicity so that everyone gets to know its details ? Manipur has had enough of big talk without seeing anything at the ground. Forget about a Smart City, just make Imphal liveable.