January 26: The Joint Self-employed Street Traders Struggle Committee (JSSTSC) has announced a phase-wise protest against the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), putting forth a seven-point charter of demands.

Organizing a press conference in the capital on Friday, the struggle committee declared that it will wage a protest from January 29 to February 11 under various phases. Accordingly, the struggle committee will hand over a memorandum to the KMC on January 29, will organize a sit-in and picketing along with a public demonstration at the KMC office on January 30, and will submit a memorandum to the Kathmandu District Administration Office on January 31, said Maya Gurung, the president of Nepal Self-employed Trade Workers Association.

According to her, they will hand over a memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs on February 1, to the Prime Minister's Office on February 2, to the CPN (Unified Socialist) party on February 4, to the CPN (Maoist Center) on February 5, to the Nepali Congress on February 6 and to the CPN (UML) on February 7.

Likewise, the struggle committee will hold a demonstration with wider people's participation, clanging plates with spoons and also picketing the KMC office on February 11, said Kumar Sapkota, president of Nepal Independent Street Trade Workers Organisation.

He said a seven-point demand has been submitted to KMC with the announcement of the programs of protest.

Returning the goods of traders seized by the KMC in different periods, arranging goods at cheap prices for the citizens by running a 'fair price market' in all wards of KMC, allowing the entrepreneurs to run their business in the existing places by determining appropriate time until alternative arrangements are made, are the demands of the struggle committee.

Similarly, the struggle committee demanded to initiate activities related to labor management by establishing a labor desk at KMC immediately and the formation of a high-powered management task force under the coordination of the mayor and deputy-mayor comprising stakeholders including trade unions’ representatives associated with the struggle committee, said chairperson of National Self-Employed Traders Association, Leela Bahadur Dahal.

Gurung shared that they would announce an additional program of agitation if the bodies concerned did not pay any interest to address the demands of traders, adding they wanted a long-term solution by holding a discussion.

Similarly, Sapkota demanded that the KMC should bring self-employed street traders under the ambit of tax after managing the street business. 

Although municipal police had expressed commitment to return the seized goods of traders, the traders have been returning empty-handed, said Chairperson Dahal. -- RSS