HYDERABAD: The politics of hawking spots are an open secret in Hyderabad’s streetvending sector. While hawkers encroach pavements and motive inconvenience to pedestrians and commuters, activists say they are allowed to do so by bribing local leaders and police in some spaces.
“Most boulevard distributors or hawkers function and not using a licence or a registered industry identify and therefore don't pay tax to the government. Therefore, they are unlawful businesses. These distributors will have to pay cops or local leaders a bribe, so that the authorities look the other way and don’t arrest them for engaging in industry in an unlawful means,” stated Mohammed Habeeb, a social activist.
Hawkers, on the other hand, say on many events they have been forced to pay their “unofficial rents” on time even on days when industry has been dull.
“Those who collect money from hawkers are generally now not noticed gathering the bribe without delay from the hawkers. The work is given to middlemen who generally collect money daily, every now and then by pressure, and hand it over to the main person. If we need to run the industry, we will have to give the money even when we do not make any profits,” stated a hawker at Laad Bazaar, on condition of anonymity.
Leaders of hawker unions say that paying unlawful dues to hafta collectors is rampant even because the police and civic authorities are acutely aware of this extortion. To prevent these illegalities, members of the hawkers’ welfare association took to social media and asked the government to research the subject.
Mohd Amer, president of Laad Bazaar Welfare Association, posted on Facebook, “Complaint in opposition to local leaders and the store homeowners who are taking money from the poor hawkers. Daily Rs 600 is being accumulated from them and the full assortment is going as much as Rs 1 or 2 lakhs approximately each day”.
He added that 8-10 agents collect money from hawkers and provides it to a few shop homeowners within the space as well as local leaders. “Whenever the police begin any action, local leaders intrude and misbehave with the officials,” stated Amer.
“Most boulevard distributors or hawkers function and not using a licence or a registered industry identify and therefore don't pay tax to the government. Therefore, they are unlawful businesses. These distributors will have to pay cops or local leaders a bribe, so that the authorities look the other way and don’t arrest them for engaging in industry in an unlawful means,” stated Mohammed Habeeb, a social activist.
Hawkers, on the other hand, say on many events they have been forced to pay their “unofficial rents” on time even on days when industry has been dull.
“Those who collect money from hawkers are generally now not noticed gathering the bribe without delay from the hawkers. The work is given to middlemen who generally collect money daily, every now and then by pressure, and hand it over to the main person. If we need to run the industry, we will have to give the money even when we do not make any profits,” stated a hawker at Laad Bazaar, on condition of anonymity.
Leaders of hawker unions say that paying unlawful dues to hafta collectors is rampant even because the police and civic authorities are acutely aware of this extortion. To prevent these illegalities, members of the hawkers’ welfare association took to social media and asked the government to research the subject.
Mohd Amer, president of Laad Bazaar Welfare Association, posted on Facebook, “Complaint in opposition to local leaders and the store homeowners who are taking money from the poor hawkers. Daily Rs 600 is being accumulated from them and the full assortment is going as much as Rs 1 or 2 lakhs approximately each day”.
He added that 8-10 agents collect money from hawkers and provides it to a few shop homeowners within the space as well as local leaders. “Whenever the police begin any action, local leaders intrude and misbehave with the officials,” stated Amer.
Hawkers ask govt to put an end to ‘hafta nexus’
![Hawkers ask govt to put an end to ‘hafta nexus’]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
January 28, 2019
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