Nagaland: Residents of NST, Middle Point areas want food stalls on footpath removed permanently

DIMAPUR: The joint council of NST and Middle Point colonies have asked the Dimapur district administration to permanently stop vendors from running food stalls on the footpath in their localities and relocate them to other areas.

In a joint statement, the colonies lauded the Deputy Commissioner of Dimapur, Commissioner of Police, and Chief Executive Officer of Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) for removing vendors running business on the footpath in the main town areas, especially from Clock Tower to Popular Bakery, which falls under the two localities.

The councils pointed out that food stalls being run by vendors along the stretch of road by putting up chairs and tables on the footpath meant for the pedestrians have been a nuisance to the residents of the localities as well as the general public for a long time.

It said the the food stalls (on carts) that remained open late into the night and early hours of the morning were “thronged by unruly elements” and people drink alcohol openly on the street, littering the area with vomit, broken bottles, urine and leftover food, thus attracting flies despite clearing of waste by DMC sanitation workers.

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Many instances of “reckless behavior” take place in the areas late at night and some even play loud music, disturbing the peaceful environment, creating unwanted situations for nearby residents and disturbing students during study hours, it said.

During off business hours, food carts are parked in narrow by-lanes of the colonies and in front of private residential houses, thus obstructing free movement of the residents, it claimed, adding that vending carts cause traffic congestion especially during school hours by occupying the narrow by-lanes of the localities and parking areas.

Maintaining that one cannot be allowed to go on creating inconveniences to the public in the name of earning a livelihood, the joint council requested the district authorities to permanently ban vendors from running food stalls in the area and relocate them to more spacious locations like the Super Market, which also has sufficient space for parking vehicles.

It also said the issue had been raised with the district authorities on several occasions and even cleared the chairs and other items from the footpath with the help of volunteers but the vendors keep coming back. So, it sought the intervention of the district administration to solve the issue once and for all.

The joint council went on to urge the authorities not to randomly issue vending permits as well as asked health officials to check if the food stalls follow food safety norms.