PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
About 80 street vendors’ families have been protesting at Shaheed Smarak in Mussoorie for 163 days, demanding an alternative place to run their businesses. Congress leaders met the protesters and urged them to postpone their planned hunger strike.
Congress leader Sujata Paul Maliah and party spokesman Pankaj Singh Kshetri visited the protest site and spoke to the workers about their problems. The workers said they were removed from Mall Road by the Mussoorie municipal council and have been facing difficulties in earning a living since then. The workers alleged that they had approached municipal council chairwoman Meera Saklani and local MLA and cabinet minister Ganesh Joshi several times for a solution. They claimed that they did not receive a positive assurance. The workers had decided to begin a hunger strike after their demands remained unresolved for 163 days. The Congress leaders supported their protest but appealed to them to avoid the hunger strike and continue their movement through peaceful and democratic means.
Kshetri said the issue was linked to the livelihood of around 80 families. They urged the administration and the municipal council to hold a meeting with the workers and find a practical solution. They also demanded an alternative arrangement where the vendors could run their small businesses while maintaining the city’s arrangements.
