New Delhi, Jul 17 (PTI) NASVI has launched a city-wide voter awareness campaign to encourage street vendors to participate in the upcoming Town Vending Committee (TVC) elections, it said in a statement on Friday.
As part of the campaign, an awareness vehicle fitted with banners and a public announcement system will travel across all MCD zones, covering major vending clusters and markets, the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) said in the statement.
The vehicle will inform vendors about the importance of the elections and urge them to exercise their right to vote and elect representatives who can effectively raise issues concerning their rights and livelihoods.
NASVI has also been helping vendors understand the election process, file nominations and complete documentation, besides providing guidance at different stages, it said.
According to the statement, the organisation has raised several issues with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, including the need for more polling booths, timely distribution of Certificates of Vending and access to voter lists for candidates.
It has also sought verification of the eligibility of contesting candidates, consideration of issues related to OBC certificates, appointment of polling agents and inclusion of eligible vendors whose names are missing from voter lists.
NASVI national coordinator Arbind Singh said the TVC was an important democratic institution under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
“Every vote has the power to strengthen the collective voice of street vendors,” he said, urging eligible vendors to participate in the elections.
Street vendor Bharat Bhagat in a statement said the campaign was helping vendors understand the importance of the elections and their voting rights.
Ruchman, a woman contesting from the North Shahdara zone, said in a statement that the campaign was encouraging greater participation, particularly among women vendors.
NASVI said it would continue its outreach campaign across Delhi in the run-up to the TVC elections and appealed to eligible vendors to cast their votes.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has announced the schedule for elections to the TVCs, with polling on August 2 to elect 12 representatives from among registered street vendors across the city.
Polling will be held from 8 am to 5 pm, while counting of votes and declaration of results are scheduled for August 4.
Earlier in May, the Delhi High Court directed MCD to constitute 23 statutory TVCs by July 21.
Each committee consists of 30 members, including 12 elected vendor representatives, 6 members nominated by the local body (including Chairperson), and 12 nominated members from Police, Traffic Police, Market Associations, NGOS, Banks, RWAs, Revenue Department, etc. PTI VBH VBH AMJ AMJ
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