Since the recent inauguration of the smart vending zone undertaken as a pilot project near the Ring Road, citizens and vehicle users alike are appreciating the less chaotic and more systematic environment of Chhe Number Puliya. However, some of the vendors there don’t seem too happy with the new infrastructure. They are also complaining about the limited amount of weight that the smart trolleys can bear.
Few activists have also raised concern stating that the infrastructure of the new vending zone has been made on the land of irrigation department without the department’s permission, but municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said that No-Objection Certificate (NOC) had been procured from the department.
A vendor at the smart vending zone with his old cart said, “They are sending trolleys one by one. As of now some of us are selling vegetables from our old carts. The problem is that when we used to set our own carts there was a particular place where we used to keep our products. Now this trolley is only offering a limited space for us to keep everything and there is nowhere for us to sit. We cannot stand for about eight to nine hours.”
Another vendor said, “We first paid Rs 30,000 and then Rs 78,000. We only got the trolley after we paid the full amount. Other trolleys are also coming. We were fine with the earlier arrangement and with the new one as well. Now at least they won’t ask us to move back every time there is some VIP movement.”
A customer from Mohkampur buying vegetables at the vending zone expressed her delight at the new arrangement. She said, “I was surprised at first on seeing this place less crowded. The area is much cleaner now. Earlier the floor here used to be way muddy, but now the sanitation here is much better. Even for the vehicles there is space now so that the ongoing traffic won’t be disturbed.”
It is pertinent to mention here that, officials of Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) earlier said that the trolleys will also have a solar panel with capacity to provide electricity for up to eight hours. The vendors will also be paying Rs 2,000 to MCD as monthly tax.
