DBKL RAIDS PUDU PASAR - 1500 TRADERS – NOT ONE INDIAN TRADER

There was a raid on the Pudu Pasar to sweep up the illegal foreign workers and that caused a disruption to business. In the process what it threw up for view are few issues which relate to the Indian poor. There are a total of 1500 traders operating in the pasar. That the police should raid for illegal foreign workers suggests a large number of them there – just how many, I do not know. These stalls are all supposed to be licenced by the DBKL.

That is all fine and dandy. How are these licences issued ? Is there transparency about the process of issuing licences. Is there someone selling licences ? Is there someone buying and selling licences.? We do not have precise answers for all of this. But I can a venture a guess knowing how corrupt the system is. It is all probably occurring. In fact this was one of the grouses of the Hawkers and Petty Traders Association Chairman at the press conference he gave yesterday.

Then of the 1500 traders there is not one Indian trader in the lot. Is this just a coincidence and is it because Indians are poor businessmen. To say that Indians do not know how to run stalls and make a profit from it, is being plain stupid – look at the numbers of stalls that spring up at Deepavali time throughout the country or that spring up during the major festivals at the doorsteps of the temples. I put it that this is happening because equal opportunities are not provided on a transparent basis to the deserving. Or there is a corrupt mechanism at work in issuing the licences and cornering all the licences to the hisghest bidder.

Then, what are all the foreign workers, both legal and illegal, doing there? So, why is the government issuing permits for foreign workers in this petty trade business. Foreign workers should be allowed in areas where there is a real shortage of labour and petty trade business is really not one such area. These stalls should be run by owner traders. I suspect there is subletting of licences going on to the foreign workers here and easy rent money is being collected. If some of these licences are issued to the Indian young, this will create employment for them and for their families and probably keep them away from crime and such other negative activities.

All our analysis just keeps pointing to this one thing, the fact that there are just no opportunities for the energetic young Indian adults. The opportunities have all either been usurped or auctioned off. The working of the racist and corrupt system has usurped all these opportunities first in the name of NEP now in the name of entrepreneur development.