From Karbi Anglong to Dimapur: Vendors’ journey of survival

Street vendors have long battled to be recognized as a professional guild. However, that is not the biggest of the issues for many vendors in Dimapur. Majority of the people in Dimapur depend on vendors for fresh vegetables, yet what goes unnoticed most of the time is the journey of the vendors from their homes to the markets.

Pesapi from a village in Assam’s Karbi Anglong journeys to Dimapur every once a week with her load of assorted fresh vegetables. The vegetables she sells at Wednesday Bazaar in Super Market are bought from local vendors in her village at a cheap price. She earns around Rs. 500 each trip, out of which, Rs.100 is spent on bus fare and Rs. 20 on tax.

The profit she makes selling vegetables on the streets of Dimapur is meager, but for Pesapi and her family, the journey is essential for survival. Half of their family income comes through the sale of vegetables.

A daily wage earner with five children, Pesapi’s life is one of struggle. She earns Rs. 120 a day on her working days and her husband works as a Chowkidar in a school, but Pesapi has to find other means of income to fulfill the needs of her family.

Sitting a few steps away from Pesapi is Redhoni, a widow with 8 children from another village in KA. She not only sells vegetables, but also firewood sometimes. On a bad day, she goes home empty hand; meanwhile, on some days, when she cannot sell all of her vegetables, she gives them at a cheaper price as she cannot carry them back home. Juggling between her business and family, she has always been proactive as a mother. “Why I can’t look after my kids, I have been taking care of them my entire life,” she asserts.

Dimapur sees a lot of street vendors from Karbi Anglong, mostly selling vegetables. Neti Sharma and his wife from KA have been coming to Dimapur to sell vegetables to provide for their family and pay for their children’s education. “Education is necessary for our children even though we are poor,” Sharma says. He hopes that his children grow up, become someone in life, and look after the family. “We don’t have any other work. In order to survive we have to work hard and get something for the family, what we sell is what we take home to look after our family.”