SILENT CONTENDORS

ESTABLISHING THE IMPORTANCE OF FOOD STREET

IN SURAT CULTURE

SEM V BARCH III

FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, SCET, SURAT

CERTIFICATE

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THIS RESEARCH REPORT ENTITLED AGEING MODULES

SUBMITTED BY SANJANA APPACHU,AAYUSHI GAJJAR, PARPTI PATEL,YASH PATEL,HETALI
PATEL; FOR THE SUBJECT RESEARCH METHODOLOGY DONE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
REQUIREMENT OF PROGRAM OF BACHELORS IN ARCHITECTURE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
ARCHITECTURE, S.C.E.T., SURAT, IS PREPARED BY THEM UNDER THE
SUPERVISION OF PROF. VAHBIZ ENGINEER AND PROF. SANGEETA MOANTY.

PROF. VAHBIZ ENGINEER

PROF. SANGEETA MOHANTY
RESEARCH SUPERVISOR
DEPT. OF ARCHITECTURE
S.C.E.T. SURAT.

RESEARCH

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

THE SUBJECT OF "AGEING MODULES" REQUIRED CAREFUL EXAMINATION. EXPERT

GUIDANCE, ENCOURAGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM BY OUR RESEARCH
SUPERVISORS I.E. PROF. VAHBIZ ENGINEER AND PROF. SANGEETA MOHE, HELPED IN
MAKING THE SUBJECT COMPREHENSIBLE AND THUS COMPLETION OF WORK, MY
HEARTFELT GRATITUDE AND SINCERE THANKS TO THEM.
HELP AND CO-OPERATION OF PROF. PERSI ENGINEER, H.O.D., ARCHITECTURE DEPT., S.C.E.T.,
SURAT FOR PROVIDING INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES AND SUGGESTIONS DURING THE
RESEARCH IS DULY ACKNOWLEDGED.
WE ARE ALSO THANKFUL TO OUR PEERS AND COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED
DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT.
LASTLY, WE WISH TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CONTINUED SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF
OUR FAMILY MEMBERS DURING THE PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT.

SANJANA APPACHU -1A

AAYUSHI GAJJAR -9A
PRAPTI PATEL -27A
YASH PATEL-31A
HETALI PATEL- 23B

Contents:
1.0.0 Introduction
1.1.0 Aim
1.2.0 Objectives
1.3.0 Methodology
1.4.0 Solution
1.5.0 Scope
2.0.0 Questionnaire (format)
3.0.0 Literature review
3.1.0 World problems
4.0.0 Analysis
5.0.0 Design solutions

1.0 INTRODUCTION

STREET VENDORS HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE INFORMAL ECONOMY .DUE TO THE
INCEPTION CAPACITY OF THE MODERN ORGANIZED SECTOR TO PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT FOR THE
RAPIDLY EXPANDING LABOUR FORCE, A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE TRY TO CREATE OR FIND
INCOME

OPPORTUNITIES.

OPPORTUNITIES

THE

SHORTAGE

OF

SUCH PRODUCTIVE

EMPLOYMENT

IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR AND OWING TO SUCH AN EMPLOYMENT

GROWTH

WHICH TAKES PLACE AT A FAR LOWER RATE LEADS TO THE EMERGENCE OF THE INFORMAL
SECTOR WHICH IS LARGELY ATTRIBUTED TO DIVERGENCE

BETWEEN THE GROWTH IN URBAN

POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT GROWTH IN FORMAL ECONOMY.

ALSO, IN THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, INFORMAL VENDING WAS VIEWED WITH SUSPICION AND
WAS SEEN TO LEAD TO THE OBSTRUCTION OF PAVEMENTS AND BLOCKING PEDESTRIAN FLOWS
TRAFFIC CONGESTION,

CRIME, LARGE VOLUMES OF GARBAGE, DIRT AND OFTEN UNSANITARY

WASTE PRODUCTS LEADING TO UNHYGIENIC ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH HAZARDS AND GENERAL

DETERIORATION AND DILAPIDATION OF THE IMPORTANT AREAS OF THE CITY. THE INFORMAL
VENDORS ARE OFTEN SEEN TO FORCE UNFAIR COMPETITION TO FORMAL TRADERS AS WELL AS TO
CREATE A POOR IMPRESSION ABOUT THE CITY FOR OUTSIDERS.
HOWEVER, VERY MANY VENDORS SHOW PERSEVERANCE IN DEALING WITH AUTHORITIES OF
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION,

TRAFFIC

POLICE,

REGIONAL

DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES,

GOVERNING

BODIES,

LOCAL TOUTS,

COPS

DEALING

WITH

DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION

LAW

AND

ORDER,

AUTHORITIES,

LOCAL

SINGLE HANDEDLY WITH AN ODD AND AWE-INSPIRING

MIXTURE OF CONFIDENCE AND WEAKNESS.

1.1 AIM TO STUDY THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STREET FOOD HAWKERS IN THE SURAT.
1.2 OBJECTIVE: OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ARE:
TO STUDY THE PROFILE OF STREET HAWKERS IN SURAT.
TO STUDY THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THESE HAWKERS.

1.3 METHODOLOGY
THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN SURAT AND WAS LIMITED TO THE INFORMAL VENDORS WHO DO
NOT HAVE ANY FIXED PREMISES WHICH ARE BROADLY CLASSIFIED INTO THREE CATEGORIES i)
VENDING IN FIXED LOCATIONS ii) VENDING IN WEEKLY BAZAARS WHERE THE LOCATION CHANGES
EVERYDAY; AND MOBILE AND DOOR TO DOOR VENDING. THIS STUDY WAS LIMITED TO MOBILE
VENDORS.
INFORMATION WAS FIRST COLLECTED THROUGH A DETAILED LITERATURE REVIEW FOLLOWED BY
FIELD

LEVEL

STUDY,

PRIMARILY

THROUGH

SCHEDULED

QUESTIONNAIRES

AND

DETAILED

INTERVIEWS OF THESE MOBILE VENDORS. TO IDENTIFY THE SAMPLE VENDORS AND GEOGRAPHICAL

LOCATION OF THE STUDY, AT THE FIRST STAGE, A MAPPING OF MAJOR INFORMAL MARKETS AND
WEEKLY MARKETS WAS DONE. FROM THESE A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF MARKETS WAS
SELECTED AND SAMPLE OF STREET FOOD VENDORS WAS DRAWN.
1.4. SOLUTION
THIS REQUIRES THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE VENDORS POLICY OF 2009 AT THE EARNEST. A
SUPPORTIVE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IS CONSECUTIVELY ALSO THE NEED OF THE HOUR.
1.5 SCOPE
WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POLICY, SPACE CONFLICTS CAN BE RESOLVED, AND WHEN
SECURED VENDING SPACE IS ASSURED MANY VENDOR ASSOCIATIONS CAN MANAGE THE VENDING
SPACE. MANAGEMENT MAY INCLUDE, SPACE ALLOCATION, COLLECTION OF FEES OR LICENSE
PAYMENTS, AND CLEANING AND LITTER COLLECTION. HOWEVER THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY
PROPOSED SEVERAL INITIATIVES SUCH AS STREET VENDORS (PROTECTION OF LIVELIHOOD AND
REGULATION OF STREET VENDING) BILL, 2012 WHICH AIMS AT PROTECTING THE LIVELIHOOD
RIGHTS AND SOCIAL SECURITY OF STREET VENDORS AND REGULATION OF URBAN STREET
VENDING IN THE COUNTRY AND ENSURING UNIFORMITY IN THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR STREET
VENDING ACROSS STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES.

2.0.0 Questionnaire (format)

Sr No.

TOPIC
Parameter: Socio-Economic
Variable: Occupation
Questions

What is the criteria of the

selection of food item?

Sr No.

Response

Remarks

Response

Remarks

After the selection of food,

how do you decide the area
to sell your item?

Why do you think people

will prefer coming to your
stall rather than a well
established restaurant?

What according to you is

the role played by the
street food hawkers
in
contributuion to the surat
culture?
TOPIC
Parameter: Socio-Economic
Variable: Society
Questions

How often do you visit a

food stall and a restaurant
in a month?

Why doe sthe majority

prefer a food stall over a
restaurant?

Describe in brief your

general observation at a
food stall on a Sunday
morning and a Sunday
evening.

Describe in brief
experience
on
favourite food stall.

How do you think the food

hawkers
enhance
the
culture of surat?

Sr No.

your
your

TOPIC
Parameter: Socio-Economic
Variable: Social Challenges
Questions

What are the problems that

you as a food hawker face?

How often do you harassed

by the authorities?

How has the increase in the

number of food stalls in
your area afftected your
sale?

What
problems
have
arouse the lack of space on
the street?

In what ways have the

problems due to hygiene
and
sanitation
affected
your food sales?

What according to you,

would be an idle street for
you to sell your food?

Response

Remarks

3.0.0 Literature review

Street vendors are micro entrepreneurs, who are involved in providing retail services to meet the daily
requirements of the people. Due to the unorganized nature of their business they lack a voice and face various
challenges while eking out a livelihood. Street trading in India is a traditional supplementing activity for working
poor especially the women and provides a platform to migrants to make a place in the working life of a city.
Though hawkers occupy the lowest rung in the retail pyramid, they provide access and come in handy for
customers. The term urban vendor is inclusive of both vendors; stationary as well as mobile, and incorporates all
other local/region terms used to describe them, such as, pheriwalla, rehri-patriwalla, footpath dukandars.
According to the National Policy, there are three categories of street vendors:
1. Those Street Vendors who carry out vending on a regular basis with a specific location.

2. Those Street Vendors who carry out vending not on a regular basis and without a specific location, for
example, vendors who sell goods in weekly bazaars during holidays and festivals and so on.
3. The Mobile Street Vendors.
1.

2.

3.

Out of these, the street vendors vending on a regular basis are easy to find and convenient to study. It was hence
found that nearly 77.5% of such street vendors in Surat vending on a regular basis possessed required informal
knowledge and skills.
The following are the reasons for people engaging in such vending activities. A large number of them engaged in
this occupation because its their family occupation. Few vendors were involved in street vending due to less
investment, need of money and past experience of this kind of business. More than half of the vendors have
selected the place of vending due to reasons like close to an established market or where they found good
opportunity of selling of their goods. With increasing urban migration and the shrinking formal sector in Surat,
hawking and street vending have emerged as one of the critical means of earning a livelihood for the urban poor.
People engaged in vending tries to solve their problems through their own meagre resources. Unlike other
sections of the urban population they do not demand that government create jobs for them, nor do they engage in

begging, stealing or extortion. It appears that irrespective of the location and type of vendors, they try to live their
life with dignity and self-respect through regular vending activities.
Surat is one of the most dynamic cities of India. It is known for its business culture and its decadal growth of
72.06%. The growth in the economic activities city of Surat has not only attracted a substantial amount of
capital, but also a proportion of migrant population from within Gujarat, but also from the neighbouring state
of Maharashtra as well as farther regions of Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu. The
percentage of migrants to the total population of the city is around 56% out of which 30% of them migrate for
employment.

Surat is also known for the street vending culture. Food push carts (larries) in Surat are popular for the taste and
variety of food offered by them. Such food vendors can be seen all over the city however the concentration is very
high in the major commercial areas that come under the central, west and east zone. Due to the predominance
of commercial activities in these areas they also attract a very large number of people and have become prime

location for informal activities like vending. Transportnodes are the other important location where one can see a
large number of vendors engaged in hawkin
1.Larry

2.Pathari

3. SemiStatic

4 Gumti

Based on the type of business the vendors can be classified as Larry who are mobile vendors selling items like
vegetable, fruits etc. Another type is known as Pathari who normally sell their commodities while sitting on the
ground. In terms of mobility they can be classified as Mobile that moves from one place to another on the same
day, Semi-Static units where the vendors erect a structure which is removed at the end of the day, and Static which
is more like a stall or Gumti that is used for selling commodities and fixed in a particular location.
Residential areas are mainly having vendors selling regular commodities like vegetables, fruits and other
items.

In addition, Surat is also known for having special weekly markets like Saniwari and Raviwari where one can
see a very large number of vendors engaged in selling different types of goods. The Surat Municipal Corporation
has also taken initiative to settle the vendors in few locations like Bhatar, City Light, Pandeshra housing and Sonal

Market. Few items like vegetable and fruits can be seen in almost all the locations. While some markets are
specialized in garment or non-vegetarian food items others remained general.
The few famous vendors market in Surat are Shaniwari, Chauta Bazar, Khaudra Gali, Bhagal Market,
Saiyadpura Market, Jhapa Bazar, Sardar Bazar, Raviwari, Harinagar-2 Market, Varacha Chaupati,
Udhana Station Market, Kailashnagar Market,
Trikampura Market, Piplod etc. A few of them
are marked in the map:
The Shaniwari market for instance is known as
weekly Saturday market is the most popular in
Surat city. This market is located near the
Makkai Bridge, next to River Tapi. The market
starts in the morning and continues till 9 pm but
afternoon is more crowded According to the
vendors this market is more than 100 years old.
There are nearly 1000 vendors with no proper
sanitation facility in the market. Local dadas
come and collects Rs.100 which many vendors
call it as gunda tax. In some cases, they take
Rs.500- 700 depending upon business. The
market is not having any management committee
as one can see in places like Raviwari in
Ahmedabad. The market mostly consists of cloth
vendors as well as other vendors who sell water
packets etc,
Khaudara Gali is a non- vegetarian food street
market in Surat with almost all vendors selling
non vegetarian food items. Various shops here
sell various items like Biriyani, Kababs etc. This
market is vibrant only in the evening and many
vendors sell food items, in front of the permanent
shops. Around 73% vendors sell varieties of kinds
of food items ranging from sweets to famous
Gujarati snacks, 9% sell non vegetarian food
exclusively, 9% sell fruit juices and 9% sell other
miscellaneous items.
In the present times, the challenges faced by the street vendors are categorized into inaccessibility to funds, lack
of urban space (eg: surfaced pavements and secure vending sites), poor working conditions, vulnerability, and
inability to scale up business. The vendors put in long hours, have to bear adverse weather conditions with
practically no shelter, have to walk long distances to get their supplies, have no civic amenities (eg.: shelter,
street drainage, water and toilets, or storage) and have virtually little time for recreation. Out of half of the
vendors, one third face problems of eviction, a few of them get into conflicts with pedestrians, and most of them
face harassment, confiscation of goods and extortion by authorities and police. The street vendors face
competition from the organized sector vendors (shops, malls etc.) as well as from other street vendors.
Organized sector super markets selling fruits and vegetables have also led to the reduction in business of street

vendors. Due to these above mentioned reasons, many of the hawkers report themselves facing problem into
continuing their business.
Such informal hawking activities have been a cause of nuisance not only to the vendors themselves but also to the
common people and authority residing in that particular area, as it takes up street space, blocking pavement
and parking space and henceforth causing congestion for others road users.

Blocks walking pathways

No parking space

No space allocation.

Street vendors however have innovative ideas of how space conflicts can be resolved, and when secured vending
space is assured many vendor associations can manage the vending space. Management may include, space
allocation, collection of fees or license payments, and cleaning and litter collection. However the government has
already proposed several initiatives such as Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street
Vending) Bill, 2012 which aims at protecting the livelihood rights and social security of street vendors and
regulation of urban street vending in the country and ensuring uniformity in the legal framework for street vending
across States and Union territories.Hence, the street vendors are by and large necessity entrepreneurs with lack of
access to institutional finance limited space and little scope for expansion. They face bureaucratic hurdles, have
difficulty in maintaining balance between business and personal life, have low management skills, face competition
and have a little collective action.Thus this requires the implementation of the Vendors Policy of 2009 at the
earnest. A Supportive business environment is consecutively also the need of the hour.

3.1.0 Best practices around the world

Legal Issues Around the World.

The Bombay Municipal Corporation Act 1950 do not provide for the erection of any
structure or stall on the streets which will obstruct the passage of the public, or impede
the working of a drain or open channel. Such a structure is liable to be removed by the
municipal commissioner and the person responsible for the creation of the structure is
to incur the expenses of its removal. It is imperative for a person to procure a license from
the municipal commissioner to be able to hawk his / her wares in any public place.
Failure of compliance will lead to the removal of any product being hawked on the streets,
without prior notice. Similarly hawking of milk or any other milk product without a
license is also prohibited. There is also a provision whereby the commissioner has the
authority to inspect any of the goods being hawked. If they are found to be unsound in
nature, they can be seized and destroyed. The municipal laws regulate the use of
pavements while the police regulate the use of roads. Hawkers are evicted mainly under
sections 102 and 107 of the act. These sections stipulate that anyone preventing smooth
flow of traffic can be arrested and removed.
In Mumbai, where there are around 2,00,000 hawkers, the Municipal Corporation has
granted only 14,000 licenses.
Moreover, the Municipal Corporation has stopped
granting new licenses for the past two decades, hence most of these license holders do
not ply the trade at the present as they are too old or they have died.
According to one recent estimate Kolkata has more than 1,00,000 hawkers. It appears
that with the exception of Kolkata, all the large Municipal Corporations have provisions
for providing licenses for hawking. In Kolkata the Municipal Corporation not only
considers street vending an illegal activity but its law provides very stringent punishment
for hawkers- hawking is a cognizable and non-bailable offence. Hawking or street vending
in Calcutta is controlled by the Municipal Commissioner under the provisions of the
Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act of 1980. This act prevents any type of vending on
the streets. It was under these provisions that on the night of November 16-17, 1996
that the infamous Operation Sunshine took place.
Matters did not end with Operation Sunshine. In 1997, the state government proposed
an amendment to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act. This was Bill No. 33 of 1997 and
was known as The Calcutta Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill, 1997. This
later became an act. Section 371 of the act was amended as this section contains
regulations on street vending. The original section prevented the use of any pavement
for hawking goods. The amendment expanded this to include, any basket, receptacle
or goods on pavement, street, park or garden for display or sale (Section 371, subsection 1). This Section further states (sub-section 1A) that any hawker contravening or
abetting in contravening subsection 1, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for
a term extending up to three months or fined Rs. 250. In the Statement of Objects and
Reasons, the act states in 2(ii) that in order to prevent encroachment in public places,
it has been decided to declare any such encroachment by the hawkers, stall
holders and other organizations as cognizable and non- bailable offence.

Legal status of street vendors and their integration in development

policies outside India.
In many countries, street vending is defined as illegal. Table 3 summarises the
policy-related issues in the three countries. Even though the majority of policy makers
interviewed in these countries said street vending is a necessary activity for the
livelihood of the urban poor as well as for national economy, no attempt has been
made to change their illegal status.

Table 3: Summary table on policies on street vending in the three countries

Thailand
Cambodia
Mongolia
Thailand
Cambodia
Mongolia
Laws that specify Cleanliness and Order Sub-Decree on Public
Government standard MNS
Laws that prohibit
Cleanliness and
Sub-Decree on
5021-2004 holds companies
authorities in
of the City Act Public Order Place in and
street vending
Order of the City Act
PublicThat
Order
rent space to street
charge of

Health Act Traffic and around the market is

1992
Land Transportation
regulation
controlled by market
Traffic and Land
Act
Laws that regulate street PublicHealth Act1992
committee, and
Highway
Act
vending
(requires permission
Khan/Sangkat controls
to sell) Orders from
Taxes and fees Sanitation fees since
Specified in Business
BMA governor

Credit needs

Registration
Capital of
vendors

2000 Street vendors

operation Tax Book

do notThailand
pay taxes

Cambodia
All street
vendors pay

Started in 2000.

No registration
Initial capital

vendors responsible for

providing satisfactory
infrastructure(which is not
enforced).
Law on income taxes for
entrepreneurs whose income

cannot be estimated at
Mongolia
current period puts flat
Vendors
Many
notdocument
have
22.2 percent of street vendors
Extortion
and with
rent-low taxes
dailydoNo
tax rate for all small traders.
capital operate as
access to credit
received loans (as compared to
seeking in some
that specifies the fees
disguised wage
80 percent
31.7 percent
of street
places
workers.
collected by market
For paytaxes.
larger traders)
vendors
investment USD5,
working capital

Cumbersome
registration
USD50-100
as starting
capital.
process, which allows
only short duration of
permit.Need to be
registered to rent a space.
Without registration, more
vulnerable

Income

21.4 percent of

Contribute to half or

mobile vendors earn more of their household

less than
200Bt/day. 10.3
percent of fixed
vendors earn more

income. Average
income US1.50. Per
capita income falls
below poverty line

than 1,500Bt/day.

Private entrepreneurs earn2.6

times morethan public
officers. Street vendors earn
below subsistence level
(21,000MNT as compared to
minimum subsistence level of
30,000MNT inUB).Contribute

Earn more than

to 56-65 percent of the

minimum wage

household income

(169Bt/day)

Problems identified Social security; public Harassment by market Time-consuming bureaucratic

health; career

security and police;

hurdles in getting registered;

training;

cleanliness and

illegal if not registered; no

sanitation; credit; child

facilities in the

providing safe place

to sell

care; personal security

market

4.0.0 Analysis
With the increasing prices of land in Surat, it is nearly impossible to rent, leave alone buy a small piece of land for
the lower rungs of the society. This along with the prevalent street food culture has lead to an increase in the
number of food hawkers in the last decade. People pursuing this business mostly had a number of reasons to opt for
such an unpredictable livelihood- such as it being a family business, low set up cost, insufficient capital and a
guarantee in inflow of customers due to the prevalent food culture.
Factors such as location of the stall, the variety of food items, their preparation time and cost and choice of the
consumers, play an important role in the decision making. From the survey conducted, cost, location of the stall

and choice of customers predominate the other. They usually prefer setting up their stalls in an area that either
targets a specific section of society or the public in general where the number of footfall is comparatively more.
The public in turn is equally responsive to the street food which in turn establishes a mutual relationship between
the consumer and the hawker.

Despite of only 32% of the society preferring restaurants over food stalls, most of them do not prefer going to a
food stall due to the unhygienic conditions that prevail. However, the portion of society that prefer eating at a
food stall, do so, because of nominal costs, exemption of unnecessary taxes, quicker service and food that
pleases their taste buds. Thus, these food stalls, especially on holidays play an important role in transforming the
street from a passive to an active one, also offering a variety of options for all sections of society.

Despite them being such an important part of the Surat culture, they face numerous problems. Regular
harassment by authorities, confiscation of carts, conflict and competition with other food hawkers, lack of
proper street infrastructure, unhygienic street conditions and improper implementation of policies to support
their occupation. Upon surveying, we realized most of the hawkers are unaware of the policies implemented for
their benefit. Proper legal supports from the authorities should be provided with provisions to improve hygiene
and sanitation in the area.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Das, Biswaroop, 1994, Socio-Economic Study of Slums in Surat City, CSS, Surat
Dalwadi, Shreya, 2004, Integrating Street Vendors in City Planning, Planning Dissertation, School of
Planning,
CEPT University, Ahmedabad.
SMC and SUDA, (2006), Surat City Development Plan, (2006-2012), Surat.
Incluisve design for street vendors in India- Centre for Urban Equity (CUE)

IMPORTANT WEB LINKS

http://www.gdrc.org/icm/micro/what-is.html
National Alliance of street vendor of India www.nasvinet.org
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-60-surat-street-vendors-want-id-card-own-space-1697926
http://nasvinet.org/newsite/issues-the-street-vendors/
Urban Street Vendors Lok Seva Kendra www.freewebs.com/pervez