𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

The women, under the banner of the Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA), demanded a review of the relocation process carried out by the SMB and the Urban Affairs department.

The vendors accused authorities of excluding several genuine local hawkers, particularly Khasi women, from the final list of beneficiaries, while stalls were allegedly allotted to non-local vendors.

Protesters carried placards and submitted a memorandum seeking redressal.

“Our names were there in the survey, and we even received vending certificates. But now our names are missing, and others have taken our place,” said one of the protesting vendors.

The protest follows a July 29 order of the Meghalaya High Court, which disposed of a PIL on vendor relocation, observing that the government had complied with the court’s directive to shift certified vendors from Khyndailad to the vending zone at the MUDA Parking Complex by July 22.

According to officials, 407 vendors were identified through a formal survey. Of them, 311 received Certificates of Vending (CoVs), and 282 stalls at the MUDA complex have already been occupied.

The relocation is part of the implementation of the Meghalaya Street Vendors Scheme, 2023.

However, vendors at the protest alleged that the final list of beneficiaries was never published publicly, and many certified vendors were excluded without notice.

They demanded a halt to further evictions and a transparent reassessment of stall allotments.