Vending zones in Angul a non-starter! street vendors at receiving end  

One year has passed since the inauguration of vending zones constructed at four places in Angul town at the cost of crores of rupees to rehabilitate street vendors, but they are yet to be made functional. The delay is causing resentment among footpath vendors. 

As per reports, hundreds of people from nearby villages come to Angul town on a regular basis to do business. They generally do their business on footpaths, causing traffic problems. 

In a bid to solve the traffic issues in the town, vending zones at four locations including Sikshakpada and Mishrapada were constructed spending crores of rupees. These vending zones were inaugurated last year but are yet to be handed over to the street vendors. 

As a result, they have now become the safe haven for anti-social elements.  

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“We are doing business on footpaths. If the shops are allotted to us, we will be benefited. We have visited the municipality office three to four times but to no avail,” said Bholanath Das, a footpath businessman. 

Expressing his concern, an Angul town resident Boinod Kumar Kar said, “For lying unused for a long time, these vending zones have become the centre of all illegal activities.”

In this regard, Balaram Jena, a local councilor said, “Around 400 street vendors have been registered with the municipality. But the vending zones are yet to be handed over to them. These vending zones are now being used as dumping yards. The stink emanating from here is making the lives of people who are living nearby difficult."

When asked, Angul municipality chairman, Akshay Kumar Samanta said, “We have information that anti-social activities are going on there. The process has been started to hand over the shops to the applicants.”