Clearing the sidewalks: Street vendors run everywhere

(Baonghean.vn)- Vinh City is at the peak of handling sidewalk violations and restoring urban order. Every time the campaign is launched, the people are very supportive, but street vendors are confused, worried and scattered in all directions.

Ms. Le Thi Ha rearranged her drink stall on the sidewalk of Quang Trung Street and said: "I know that occupying the sidewalk to sell is wrong, but for the sake of making a living, I accept the situation of doing business secretly. When the city proceeds to clear and remove street vendors from the sidewalk, I don't know what to do for a living."

It is known that Mrs. Ha is from Nghi Loc district, her family has 6 mouths to feed and only depends on a few fields, so she went to Vinh city to sell water. A pot of green tea, some candy, fresh milk, chips, fruits... her daily income is 150,000 - 200,000 VND. Thanks to this water shop, her 4 children can go to school. Mrs. Ha hopes that the city will arrange an area or a road that allows people like her to do business to make a living.

These days, street vendors run everywhere. They avoid small streets where there are no sidewalks. Photo taken in Nghi Phu. Photo: Tran Chau

Contrary to the worries of many people, Ms. Phuong, a street vendor on Le Hong Phong Street, said she is used to having to sell while running away from the police and ward security. "We know that selling on the street is wrong, but if we don't sell, we don't know how to make a living. If they chase us away, we run away, and when it's quiet, we come back to sell again," Ms. Phuong said.

Nguyen Thi Thu and her husband sell sticky rice on the sidewalk of Le Loi Street. They said: “My husband and I are from Nam Dan, we have no jobs and little land for production, so we moved to Vinh City to make a living. I sell sticky rice in the morning, and my husband works as a porter, doing whatever he is hired to do. Although the income is not stable, it is still many times higher than in the countryside. I am very worried that when the city clears the sidewalk, there will be no more space to sell goods" - Ms. Thu shared.

Through conversation, it was learned that most of the street vendors came from other localities. Because of the difficult life and lack of jobs, they were forced to stick to the sidewalks to earn a living and raise their children to go to school.

This Nam Dinh man's spring roll and ice cream cart has been roaming Vinh Street for more than 7 years. Photo: Tien Dung

A civilized city will certainly not have dirty street vendors encroaching on sidewalks and roads. However, if street vendors are “erased”, where will thousands of poor people go? Many opinions say that Vinh city leaders, in addition to dealing with violations of sidewalk encroachment, need to soon plan night markets and street vendors.

When there is no urban order, shops and stalls run out onto the streets and sidewalks to sit. Photo: Tien Dung.

Discussing the above issue, Mr. Le Sy Chien - Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee said: Street vendors are mainly people from other places coming to the city to do business. The city has assigned wards and communes to survey, evaluate and handle. One is to arrange them in markets, the other is to plan street vendors, however, no ward or commune has reported these street vendors to the city yet.

» Which sidewalk violations in Vinh City must be cleared?

» Vinh City will install sidewalk surveillance cameras

Tien Dung