Clearing the sidewalks: The thoughts of street vendors

(Baonghean.vn) - People realize that sidewalk trading is encroachment, but for the sake of making a living, they have to accept it. When they learn about the city's policy of restoring urban order and returning sidewalks to a clear and convenient location for pedestrians, they all agree. But they still want the government to plan a location to make a living, "opening" up a solution to help people settle down.

Sidewalk drink vendors in Vinh city are worried about the city's sidewalk clearance policy. Photo: Thanh Tam.

Ten bottles of soft drinks, mineral water of all kinds, five or seven packs of peanut candy and a pot of green tea, a table and a few small chairs for customers to sit, the tea shop of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tram, block 2, Le Loi ward has existed on the sidewalk of the triangle flower garden area of ​​Le Loi street for decades.

“This sidewalk cafe brings in about 100,000 VND a day. My family of 7, both young and old, depends on this cafe and my pension of 3.5 million VND/month. My husband works as a motorbike taxi driver, his income is unstable. If the city starts to clear the sidewalks, my cafe will probably be closed too. I don’t know how my family will survive,” said Ms. Tram.

Mrs. Ho Thi Luyen in Vinh Tien block, Hung Binh ward also saves every penny from bowls of green tea and a few cigarettes sold to passersby and workers in the Cua Bac market area. This is the main source of income for her family.

Ms. Luyen said: I am a native of Hung Binh. I used to work in the fields. When my land was confiscated, I sold sticky rice at Vinh bus station. After selling sticky rice for a while, I switched to selling tea at Cua Bac market. I bought 20,000 VND for tea and sold it all day for 50-70,000 VND. When it was hot, they drank it and sold it with ice for about 80,000 VND. My husband worked as a rickshaw driver and then a cyclo driver. The couple struggled to raise 2 children. One of them graduated from university but could not find a job and had to work as a teddy bear maker at a factory in Hung Dong industrial park. The second child is in 12th grade this year. The whole family depends on this water. Now that we can't sell it anymore, what should I do?

Mrs. Van's sticky rice stall on the sidewalk of Phan Boi Chau street

Also selling sticky rice like Mrs. Luyen for more than 30 years on the sidewalk, Mrs. Van (Hung Binh ward) is in her seventies, but every morning she has to wake up early to prepare sticky rice and bring it to the sidewalk of Phan Boi Chau street to sell. 5-6 kg of sticky rice, on a good day she earns 100-120 thousand VND profit, on a rainy day she earns only about 70 thousand VND.

Her sticky rice stall only has one basket, one small plastic table and five chairs placed on the sidewalk right next to the road. Customers who come to eat sticky rice have to park their motorbikes right on the road. "Selling here is also very hard, my child. Every now and then the police come out to clear it away. When they clear it away, you have to run away. After they leave, you have to continue selling," said Mrs. Van.

"In the past few days, reading newspapers, listening to radio and watching TV, I saw that in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, they are taking back the sidewalks very strongly, even the steps are being demolished, and all the sidewalk shops are being cleared. I heard that Vinh is also preparing to do the same, I am very worried because I don't know where the city will arrange for us to sit. We also want to have a stable place to do business," said Nguyen Thi Hong, a sugarcane juice seller in Cua Nam ward.

Currently, on most streets in Vinh city, there are businesses on the sidewalks. People realize that doing business on the sidewalks is encroachment, but for the sake of making a living, they have to accept it. When they learn about the city's policy of restoring urban order and returning sidewalks to be clear and convenient for pedestrians, they all agree. But they still want the government to plan a location to make a living, "opening" up a solution to help people settle down.

Thanh Tam