Socio- Economic Status of Street Vendors: A Case Study in Hunsur Town

Street vendors constitute an important segment of the trade and commercial activities in the informal sectors of our economy. Vending in urban area is characterized by ease, small scale operation carried out in temporary structure in a variable location without a fixed place or store. Poverty and lack of gainful employment in the rural area and in the small towns drive large number of people to the cities for work and livelihood. In rural areas the low skilled or semi skilled workers with low level of education are not normally enrolled to the jobs in organized sectors. Street vendors are facing numerous problems in their day to-day transactions. Their major problems are related to credit and infrastructure inadequacies, social security, economic instability, lack of awareness about their legal rights, non-availability of basic amenities, weather fluctuation, harassment by municipal and police officials in occupying important traffic junctions and lack of shelters and storage space. They have long hours of work without rest and lack of urban amenities and unhygienic environment for the vendors particularly women vendors. In this scenario, it is highly important to examine the real conditions of street vendors in general and their working conditions to the street vendors in the town municipality and endowment status.