A street vendor in Chennai killed himself after his vegetable stall in Koyambedu was removed last week in an eviction drive. Sathish alias Netaji (33) was one among 500 street vendors who had set up stalls in Koyambedu market alongside wholesale shops. On March 25th, the Koyambedu Marketing Management Committee (KMMC) — its association of wholesalers — undertook an eviction drive to clear the stalls. This included Sathish’s vegetable stall, which he has been running for the past two decades. KMMC members were reportedly clearing stalls stating that the street vendors were selling their wares in single-use plastic, which is banned in Koyambedu.
“On 26th, the KMMC members once again harassed the street vendors including Sathish and chased them away. This has cost his life and the livelihoods of 500 street vendors in Koyambedu. And it is not just limited to Koyambedu, it is happening across Tamil Nadu,” said V Mageswaran, state general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Street Vending Workers Federation. The federation workers on Friday staged a protest near the flower market against the eviction.
On March 26, Sathish attempted suicide and was admitted to a hospital for treatment. Four days later, on March 30, he was declared dead and his body was sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for autopsy. Sathish is survived by his wife Durga and four children.
Speaking to TNM, Mageswaran said that the eviction drive violated the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. “There is a Town Vending Committee headed by the Corporation Commissioner. Any eviction has to be first permitted by this committee including the commissioner by passing a proper resolution in these committee meetings,” Mageswaran explained, adding that the KMMC did not produce the permission letter while conducting the eviction drive on March 25.
The street vendors federation has written to the Police Commissioner and the Corporation Commissioner regarding the forced eviction in Koyambedu. No police complaint has been registered yet over Sathish’s suicide, confirmed Mageswaran.
The federation has asked for a proper headcount of the street vendors in Koyambedu and for the officials to allot dedicated spaces and streamline the activities of the vendors instead of evicting them.