Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Play on Street Vendors , Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival, 27-29 August 2010

Street play on Street Vendors by Jeevika Street Play Troupe
under the guidence of Arvind Gaur of Asmita Theatre.
This group would tour across DU colleges during August highlighting livelihood issues of street vendors and perform during the Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival,
27-29 August 2010 at Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

Actors-Vallari,Sumedh Sachdev,Palak,Shilpi Marwaha,Shiv Chauhan,Vaibhav,Pankaj,Vartika Tiwari,Abhay,Pankaj Datta,Aj Parikh,Vasu,Pradip Awasti,Pretesh manas,Sarika,Rahul Sharma, mohit Sharma,priyanka,Abhishek Pandey,Manoj Yadav,Tarun...
16th August - SRC, Mandi House at 6.20pm
19th August at 10 -12.30pm - VISHWAVIDYALA METRO, ARTS FACULTY , NORTH CAMPUS
16th -28 th August 2010 at DU colleges,SRC , IHC,Delhi Haat and Other venues
About the play-
Millions of street vendors in India are without any rights and treated as a nuisance.Street vendors don’t only contribute significantly to the economy, but more than half the urban population is dependent on them. Our street vendors, all 10 million or more of them, are part of the colour of India. They provide the magical allure, the sights, the smells and the sounds that have inspired zillions of foreign writers to India.Yet, ...though all of us Indians, rich and poor alike, make use of them every day of our lives, we take them for granted. Worse, we treat them like dirt. Across the world, street vendors have been part of the marketplace since time began. In the West, bureaucratic, soul-searing legislation has gradually squeezed all spontaneous, innovative, creative solutions off the streets. Now, a chestnut seller on a winter morning is special, a whiff of the past.Some papers have reported that street vendors pay 10-20% of their earnings as such fees. The existing laws to support the rights of street vendors are weak.
The harassment by various authorities, local bodies and departments, and the exploitative fees paid in bribes to those who exploit the loopholes in the system, leads them to destitution. This, in its worst form, takes the shape of eviction and a complete loss of working capital. Instead, regularising their activities in a manner that gives opportunities for relocation would be a better option.The government uses double standards in handling street vendors. Only when all the players involved enter into a meaningful dialogue – from civic authorities to shopkeepers, residents’ associations and vendors – can we resolve the problem in a just and equitable, mutually sustainable way.Otherwise we will continue to marginalise and victimise our vendors through cleanliness drives, violent clashes and populist rhetoric, as is the current practice.
Contact-
Shilpi Marwaha- 9540656537
Shiv Chauhan-9958793683S

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