New Delhi Feb 21 PTI An association of traders at Connaught Place has written to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal requesting him to allow shops to remain open till 10 pm in view of the improving COVID-19 situation in the national capital This is the second letter to Baijal written by the New Delhi Traders Association NDTA It cited huge financial losses as a cause of concern for traders We request you to extend the closing timings of shops in Delhi to 10 pm on the same line as that of restaurants In UP and Haryana night curfew and all restrictions have been removed but in Delhi timings for closing shops is same at 8 pm which is causing huge financial losses to shop owners NDTA wrote to the LG Since Covid positivity rate in Delhi has reduced drastically and is continuously reducing every day we once again request you to extend closing timing of shops from 8 pm to 10 pm on the same line as closing timing fixed for restaurants it added The Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA in its meeting on February 4 had extended the imposition of night curfew in the national capital but slashed its duration by an hour -- from 11 pm to 5 am Due to the night curfew shops selling non-essential items are only allowed to operate till 8 pm The DDMA had also allowed the reopening of schools for classes 9 to 12 from February 7 and for students of nursery to Class 8 from February 14 Further it had permitted all government and private offices to function at 100 per cent capacity Gyms were also allowed to reopen with certain restrictions However several restrictions like allowing only one weekly market in a municipal zone no standing passengers in buses and Metro trains and a 50 per cent cap on seating capacity in restaurants bars and cinemas remain even though there has been a marked decline in COVID-19 cases in Delhi PTI GJS SMN

New Delhi Nov 24 PTI What courts do is a thankless job they only earn ire of the populist the Delhi High Court Wednesday observed while hearing a batch of pleas relating to illegal squatting and vending activities in the national capitalA bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh made the observation when the counsel representing New Delhi Traders Association was stressing that even the earlier judgements of the apex court stated that vendors do not have the absolute right and they have to be balanced with others rights The counsel was relying on various judicial decisions in support of his plea challenging the validity of the Street Vendors Act Reacting to the observation of the bench senior advocate Sanjeev Ralli appearing for the association said If the court is made to feel like that then where we are proceeding to Be it any community from the smallest to the biggest whenever anything happening is unfair everyone comes before your lordship If your lordship is not going to come up if this activity is not stopped what kind of system we are going to have he submittedThe court listed the matter for further hearing on December 8The court is seized off a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the Street Vendors Act its implementation certain provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Scheme 2019 and other connected issues raised by various market associations and vendors and hawkers The court had earlier observed we cant let the city go to the dogs we are here to protect the rule of lawIt had expressed concern over the rising number of street vendors in the city in which the majority of them are sitting illegally PTI SKV RKS RKS

New Delhi Oct 29 PTI No right is absolute and it needs to be balanced with others rights the Delhi High Court observed Saturday saying street vendors do have a fundamental right but when they use a public way they impinge on someone elses right to walkHearing a batch of petitions on the Street Vendors Act 2014 a bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said hawkers should get proper places to sit and proper kiosks in every marketThey should have a proper licence Then you dont have to pay hafta to the police the court saidThe court asked what was the bottleneck in the implementation of the Act What is the hesitation for the last seven years The bench said the authorities should come out with the Street Vending plan taking into consideration aspects like safety security hygiene roads etcThe authorities need to have a plan every five years but unfortunately there is no plan for now it saidPeople who have been squatting should be required to disclose their assets and income Those selling on streets have fundamental rights but no right is absolute Even if he is an old squatter he should give way so that the old site is allotted fairly When you want to use a public way or a street you are impinging on somebody elses right to walkIt cannot be like no one can touch you There has to be some application of mind that what can be allowed You have to see the density of the area how many vends can be allowed the bench saidThe court commenced hearing arguments on a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the Street Vendors Act its implementation certain provisions of Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Scheme 2019 and other connected issues raised by various market associations and vendors and hawkersSenior advocate Sanjeev Ralli appearing for New Delhi Traders Association which represents shop owners and operators in the Connaught Place CP area explained to the bench previous judgements on the issue and how the things have proceeded before the courtsRalli along with advocate Mohit Mudgal while referring to a previous judgment said no hawker can defeat the rights of other citizensWhen some of the counsel tried to intervene and make submissions the court said We want to first see what judgments were delivered then in that context we want to see how the Street Vendors Act came about We do not want to lose our focus This is a dynamic situation What we are looking at is the Act which came in 2014 and its implementation There are more and more areas There may be more people who may be allowed to vend So we will have to see the Act and the scheme but firstly the street vending plan has to come it said adding that We are not coloured by any picture or paint The bench remarked Can it be said that just because the Act is not being implemented properly so the vendors will sit wherever they want We want proper implementation of the Act so that the problems of vendors end They should get proper places to sit proper kiosks in every market The court heard the arguments advanced by Ralli and listed the matter for further hearing on November 18 PTI SKV SKV TIR TIR

New Delhi [India], October 13 (ANI): The High Court on Wednesday said that there should be zero-tolerance against illegal encroachers, and asked the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Police to file a status report about the steps taken by them to remove the encroachments in the Connaught Place (CP) area.