Overview

• Since August 4, Chandni Chowk traders have held daily silent marches demanding enforcement of long-standing Delhi High Court directives on illegal hawker and encroachment removal.
• Shopkeepers contend that the Rs 140 crore court-monitored redevelopment has been undermined by the return of unauthorized vendors to no-vending zones, triggering fresh congestion, sanitation lapses and petty crime.
• Traders accuse the Public Works Department, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and local police of negligence in maintaining no-vending zones and preserving heritage conservation orders.
• Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials say regular drives are underway to clear hawkers from non-hawking zones and remove unauthorized rickshaws from the market.
• Demonstrators plan to suspend protests during Independence Week and back a Tiranga Yatra led by MP Praveen Khandelwal on August 11.