Street vendors seek more time to furnish bank account details

Madurai: Road side vendors have demanded more time from the government to submit their bank account details to receive the government doll (Rs1,000) distributed through local bodies.

There are around 8,650 road side vendors in the city, according to a data collected by Madurai Corporation a couple of years ago.

Of them, around 2,500 vendors have not received the dole distributed through the corporation as they have not submitted their bank account details. As per rule, the money has to be transferred only through banks.

S Santhiyagu, general secretary of Roadside Vendors Association, said that they could not contact those who have not submitted their bank details as public transportation system was not in place. “We heard that the state government might ask the corporation to return the money, which has not been disbursed yet. We have submitted a petition to various officials including the commissioner of municipal administration to leave the money with the local bodies until lockdown comes to an end,” he said. There are close to 13,000 vendors in Madurai city, who come from various parts of the district including Alagarkovil, Melur, Perungudi and Othakadai. There are people, who used to come from Virudhunagar and Aruppukkottai to sell cucumber. More time should be given for these vendors to submit their bank details, he said.