India Gate may see vendors return soon as New Delhi council okays permits

Vendors at India Gate will, however, be restricted to specially earmarked vending zones and strict enforcement will be ensured in terms of littering and sanitation, the New Delhi council’s vice chairman Satish Upadhayay said.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has stated that it has begun the process to allow around 120 street vendors selling ice cream, ice candies and water to operate in the redeveloped Central Vista Avenue and its surrounding areas.

Visitors at India Gate on Saturday evening. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

With the NDMC move, street vendors will return to the India Gate area 20 months after they were removed as part of redevelopment work for the Central Vista. However, the vendors will be restricted to specially earmarked vending zones and strict enforcement will be ensured in terms of littering and sanitation, the council’s vice chairman Satish Upadhayay said.

Upadhayay said that following a co-ordination meeting held with the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), a communication was given to the NDMC to initiate the process of allocating space to street vendors.

“We have received the formal communication and space allocation process will now begin in six vending zones initially. The licensing department will check the documents of the old license holders and each zone will be allowed to operate 15 ice-cream trolleys and 5 water sellers initially. The enforcement department will also be involved in the process,” he said.

Upadhayay said that a total of 90 ice-cream sellers and 30 water sellers will operate in the revamped stretch from India Gate up to Raisina Hill. “Strict directions have been issued to the sanitation department to not allow any littering in the area. Kartavya Path has been redeveloped with a lot of effort and it is our collective duty to keep it in pristine state,” he said.

The CPWD has stated that the revamped Central Vista has space for seven vending zones, including two near India Gate at the C-Hexagon. Of the seven vending zones, five have enough space for 40 vendors each while there will also be two amenity blocks at India Gate with 16 shops.

“A town vending committee for New Delhi is already in place. This body will have to be involved in the process to allot vendors these spaces and decide timings. We may have to rotate the street vendors based on space availability,” an NDMC official aware of the matter said.