NMC Launches Pilot Project for Street Vendor Management on 10 Roads Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has initiated a pilot project to implement a structured approach for managing street vendors on 10 major roads in the Dharampeth and Laxmi Nagar zones. This marks the first organized effort by the civic body to regulate hawking while enhancing pedestrian movement and traffic flow. The decision was made during a high-level review meeting chaired by municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar on Thursday. The pilot is designed to serve as a model for similar initiatives across the city if successful. Officials emphasized that the project aims to balance the protection of street vendors' livelihoods with the need to ensure roads and footpaths remain accessible for pedestrians. Unlike previous anti-encroachment drives, the focus will be on creating planned vendor zones, optimizing road space usage, and establishing orderly vending arrangements. During the meeting, experts from ITDP India, PDA Pune, and IRTE presented concepts for urban mobility improvements. The PDA Pune team showcased designs for organized vendor management in Dharampeth Zone, Futala, and Medical College Square. Based on these proposals, Itankar directed officials to identify 10 key roads in the two zones for the pilot. The selected roads will undergo surveys to finalize detailed plans, which will include demarcated vending spaces, improved pedestrian pathways, and measures to reduce conflicts between vendors, motorists, and pedestrians. This initiative comes as the NMC has intensified efforts to reclaim footpaths and regulate encroachments. While recent enforcement drives have removed illegal obstructions from several roads, officials argue that long-term solutions require planned infrastructure rather than periodic evictions.#nagpur_municipal_corporation #vipin_itankar #laxmi_nagar #dharampeth #itdp_india
