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Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Menace of Kiosks/Gumthis

by LK Anand
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I have had the opportunity of visiting a number of places in India in almost all directions. The menace of Kiosks or Gumthis, appears to be existent in all parts of India, but least in southern states and one of the most serious in Madhya Pradesh. I may not be too wrong in my assessment if I am to say that our dear city of Indore takes the cake. For this I can express and convey my heartfelt thanks to the so called administrative machinery of Indore.
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We have the Indore Development Authority, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC or Indore Nagar Palika Nigam including the Mayor, the Parshads & the Staff), the Indore Collectorate and last but not the least the Indore Police, to name a few, in whose hands lies the destiny of this famous and beautiful city. Most officials of these establishments rarely come in limelight for having done something outstanding and worthwhile for the city, but do so for recovery of crores of rupees of disproportionate assets from raids at their establishments / bungalows / houses and so on, as if they are all going to carry all these assets along, to the next world.
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How lucky they are, that eventually nothing happens to them and they are left scot free after a long period of eye wash enquiries. This clearly indicates that there is a strong nexus amongst all the central/state government functionaries at various levels to ensure that they at all times maintain a clean image. This apparently, invariably compromises the functional capability and approach of all the officials of these establishments, due to which the citizens of Indore rarely see any worthwhile improvement in the city.
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Since, there has never been any effort on the part of local administration to do away with the menace of Kiosks/Gumthis, it may now be extremely difficult, if not impossible to do away with this menace. It can be attributed to lack of ability of the Government to remove poverty, unemployment, development of slums and connected issues. In spite of all this, I feel the menace of kiosks/gumthis can be set right or reduced drastically, not just by ruthlessly eliminating them from the scene altogether, but by paying attention to certain aspects connected with them, as also to organise them systematically under a separate department created at the IMC. This department should
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( a ) Earmark suitable places of sufficient sizes at various locations in the city exclusively for them, a little distance away from the main roads, so that they do not under any circumstances create any mess up with the regular traffic plying on the roads. There should be a proper approach and parking areas for the customers/passersby in close vicinity. Proper organisation even of haats/weekly markets should also be done on similar lines.
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( b ) Areas where the Kiosks/Gumthis, would not be permitted, under any circumstances, will have to earmarked separately for the whole city. Violations at these areas irrespective of any influence must be removed ruthlessly with punishments if necessary.
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( c ) Register all the kiosks/gumthis after checking the antecedents, and issue them a badge and a Certificate which should always be available with them. They have to pay the price for running these, and must pay the registration fees/ground rent etc to the IMC for one year which should be renewed on yearly basis. IMC can utilise this fee for improving their facilities on regular basis.
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( d ) Allocate a size, location and duration of functioning, to each of them as also the type of merchandise they are allowed to sell.
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( e ) Unregistered Mobile hand carts / thelas should not be allowed to ply at all, under any circumstances. Those registered should also not be allowed on main roads/busy roads/streets after/before the specified timings.
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( f ) The food inspectors should inspect and certify the products / items being sold by the operators of kiosks and gumthis and take the violators to task.( g ) Every kiosk/gumthi must display the following details prominently in a standardised manner at all times to verify if it is legal or illegal:-
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( i ) Name of the person/VIP with whose exclusive / recommendation / permission the kiosk/gumthi has been established. (MP, MLA, Parshad or anyone else)
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( ii ) IMC Registration No, the badge issued by IMC for the kiosk / gumthi, indicating location, size, products sold, timings and date of validity.
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( iii ) Name and Address of the operator of kiosk/gumthi along with his latest photograph.
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Thereafter, it would be the job of the department created to administer kiosks/gumthis to inspect and ensure that these remain at their locations only and nowhere else. The operators should under no circumstances litter or dirty the areas as also obey the instructions meticulously. Violators’ should either be severely warned or pay heavy fines or their permissions / registrations should be cancelled for repeated violations of instructions.
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Ensuring proper discipline and avoidance of corrupt practices by everyone down the line especially the department created to administer them, is the essence and must be ensured at all levels under all circumstances. All the concerned government departments including the Collectorate and the Indore Police would also have to play their part.
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Published in Free Press Indore Edition, on Sunday, October, 24, 2010

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