India: WCCA Campaign appeal to Commonwealth to review policies towards urban vendors during the Commonwealth Games to halt further evictions

25 June 2010

NASVI commenced the second phase of its World Class Cities for All Campaign n February 2010. The campaign is scheduled to end in August just before the start of the Commonwealth Games which take place in New Delhi in September. As in the case of South Africa, the sporting event has been the cause of an intensified attack against street vendors, with evictions and harassment of vendors in the centre of the city and near the sports grounds. There are approximately 300,000 street vendors working in and around the centre of New Delhi.

NASVI has now written a letter to the organisers of the Commonwealth Games and Indian authorities calling on them to set up a body to review the policies towards urban vendors during the Games in order to prevent further evictions and harassment. NASVI Letter to Commonwealth Secretary