Activist Angela Rangad has sharply criticised the state administration over its ongoing crackdown on hawkers and mobile vendors in the city, calling the actions “illegal, anti-poor, and a deliberate abuse of power.” Speaking to reporters, Rangad accused authorities of violating the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act and disregarding the very committee meant to oversee its implementation.
“The city of Shillong and the people in power do not want to follow the law,” she said. “They are anti-poor and anti-people who are simply trying to make an honest living. The income disparity in this town is like nowhere else.” Rangad, a member of the Progressive Temporary Booth Committee (PTBC) and long-time campaigner for hawkers’ rights, said the recent eviction drives target the most vulnerable—mobile and seasonal vendors—at a time when the PTBC has *not even begun* discussions on regulating this category.
“It’s orange season. It is almost cultural for Shillong to see fruit vendors on the streets. They contribute to our nutrition. How dare they try to stop them? The Act clearly says a survey must identify stationary and mobile vendors. They never did that,” she said. She alleged that the 2023–24 hawkers’ survey was rushed and manipulated. “They just wanted to do a hurried, shoddy job because they want hawkers to disappear from the streets of Shillong. They want to change the very nature of this city.”