American didi raises voices of Ranchi's vendor Bhaiyas

Vijay Deo Jha

Ranchi
Capital’s roads — including one in front of Governor’s house; got a fulsome dose of the pavement on Thursday, and, the pavement a swift pledge from the Governor House.
The roadside and street vendors got an American voice Cheryl Detusceh, working committee member of International Hawkers’ Federation to make the establishment realise the eviction of the vendors was wrong. It was after High Court’s directives to state government to make proper arrangements for street vendors before driving them out to ensure smooth traffic.

On her very first day in Ranchi she got a couple of nicknames — mademji, memsahib and didi — while other gave an uncouth twist to her name Cheryl to Shelly. But the person remains the same.

Within an hour of swarming from the different parts of Ranchi thousands of roadside hawkers under the banner of National Hawker Federation tried to outflank Ranchi’s in traffic forcing establishment to promise a review of its current drive against hawkers.

“Didi ka naam Shelly. America se ayi hai baat karne ke liye. Pata nahi ka ka baat karengi. Angrezi me bolengi to sayad hakim ko samajh ayega. (She is Shelly and has come from America. Do not know what is in her mind. Perhaps bureaucrats will be more convinced when she will speak in English.)” A puzzled vendor of the procession guessed.

Anticipating roadside anger the Congress was quick to join roadside chorus after the party MLA Sawna Lakra joined the delegation that met Sudhir Tripathy, Principal Secretary of Governor MOH Farook. Government retreated quickly enough as he assured the delegation for taking a positive step that includes writing letter to State Urban Development Department and the High Court for a proper settlement of the hawkers.

Detusceh’s had the first encounter with the problems of hawkers in Ranchi after she came down from America some years back to do research on roadside vendors in New Delhi, Mumbai and other cities.

“Hawkers are the part of the economy that caters to small needs of poor at chip price. Policy was formed, court gave ruling but nothing happened. Even prime Minister spoke to the Chief Minister of the State to implement schemes for vendors but nothing happened. I think the problem in Ranchi is grave it needs.

Detusceh is trying learn Hindi, bit nasalized, though. But that is not a handicap for others to understand what she says. And mind she will amaze you by quoting paragraphs and articles out of the voluminous revised Urban Street Vendors Act 2009 to advocate the case very vulnerable vendors of Ranchi and elsewhere.

She is planning to stay in Ranchi to do a survey of the places and the number of hawkers who were evicted by the state government. Federation claims a rough estimate of around 30000 vendors who were forced to backpack their shops in the past couple of months.

Till few months back their agitation remained sporadic; few hands holding placards; few ill-informed speakers trying to get compliance to their complaints from the establishment.

Congress’ Ramdayal Munda and social activist Medha Patekar took leadership of the movement to connect it with the rest of vendor’s India. Detusceh plans to make it make it Transatlantic as she drew a parallel of the problems of the hawkers in Ranchi and California, her home state in America.