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The Effects of the Pavement shops in the boulevard of Puducherry

ABSTRACT:
The boulevard area of Puducherry is attracting domestic and foreign
tourists) especially through the French heritage buildings and the rock beach.
However, they are littered with non-biodegradable wastes such as plastics and
disposable materials, discarded by hawkers selling eatables and the pedlars who
sell on the road and these non-biodegradable wastes are posing a threat to the
marine life and polluting the sea. Addition to this the vegetable and fruit waste
which are degradable also cause a stinks in some streets. This reports aims to
provide solution for the issues faced by the Pavement shops and to creating
awareness among the people for a trash-free marine environment.
INTRODUCTION:
In general the Municipalities are permitted to enforce reasonable
regulations concerning hawking and peddling within their borders. It may be
required for such salespeople to obtain licenses; however, municipalities cannot
prohibit the business through the requirement of an excessive fee. In such
situations where a license is required, a pedlar or hawker must obtain it prior to
the time when he or she begins to sell wares and it must be issued to the
individual who is actually engaged in the peddling.
The study has the below objectives:
1. To relocate the hawkers to an alternative site.
2. To deteriorate the fees that is paid to the municipalities.
3. To validate the pavement shops to be hygienic and clean.
4. To appoint local authorities to monitor the pavement shops.
5. To eliminate parking of vehicles on either side of the road, as it causes
problems to pedestrians.
According to sources, the hawkers were spoiling the beauty of the beach,
and so have been asked to move. The tourists and local visitors to the beach
front buy snacks etc. and leave the food waste, paper plates, and garbage and
plastic cups on the beach itself. At present, there were about 125 hawkers near
the Gandhi Thidal and their number was increasing while the rest of the beach
front was being occupied by cart vendors. The Puducherry Municipal authorities
have started the process for relocating all the hawkers from the beach area
adjacent to the Gandhi Statue to a site close to the hotel Promenade on the
beach. A notice was issued to shift the hawkers and they had given their consent in
writing a few weeks ago to move to the new place. The Municipal workers, with
the help of PWDs earth-moving equipment, were involved in levelling the ground

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in the area where the hawkers would about to be moved. The hawkers requested
to charge lower the charge that is to be paid for the shops
The Ministry of Tourism, the local administration department and the
Public Works Department together are involved in constructing the new place for
the pavement shop keepers. In addition to this Students from various schools
and colleges, members of non-governmental organisations, NCC cadets, NSS
volunteers and government employees participated in the cleaning programme
to create awareness among the people though conservancy workers are cleaning
it thrice a day.
More importantly, experts consider food served hot is microbiologically
safe, but most of the hawkers take least care about the personal hygiene and
prevention of microorganisms, by the use of substandard water and hence food
safety must be taken care with the utmost care. The municipal corporation
should ensure that food standard and safety are met properly by the Hawkers;
the best way to do it is by educating them with the best practices that could be
incorporated in maintaining the quality of the food. The NGOs who had involved
in the cleaning programme have asked the municipal corporation to appoint
authorities to monitor the Hawkers shop. Another important problem is the
parking problem which is predominant in the boulevard area. A good number of
shops have extended their facilities onto the pavement, making it difficult for
pedestrians to walk. Earlier in the beach because of the shop onto the pavement
a lot of people started parking their vehicles then and there they find and create
unnecessary trouble to the pedestrians. This is more so on J.N. Street, a main
business hub. Some shops have even built permanent structures on the footpath
and the two-wheeler riders have encroached upon almost all footpaths by
parking their vehicles .A glaring example of official apathy in enforcing traffic
rules is near the Odiansalai police station. A signboard opposite the station reads
``walk on the footpath''. But two-wheelers have been parked on the pavement.
But the traffic police said that preventing the two-wheeler riders from parking
their vehicles on the pavement will lead to more traffic problems on the road as
people started parking their vehicles on the road side. For the other case on
encroachments by business establishments the police departments said even after
warning and sometimes levying a fine people do the same thing but after a day
or two. Hence enough awareness on road safety should be made by the
government to the public, it can also take help from the NGOs, NCC cadets and
NSS volunteers from the schools and colleges.
CONCLUSION:
On the basis of the analysis done it has been found that the pavement shops
relocation which took place recently has made a significant role in maintaining
the beauty of the beach, but the government with municipality authorities still
needs to identify and educate public by conducting the various road safety and
food safety measures to maintain the beauty of the Puducherry.