Act not enough; women vendors in Nagaland struggle for basic amenities

The Street Vendors Act, 2014 aims to protect livelihood rights and social security of street vendors but its implementation has been sluggish

Every morning, 42-year-old Loni Yalie neatly places vegetables, fruits, dry fish and a variety of edible worms at a spot in the Local Ground area in Nagaland's capital Kohima. After the death of her husband, Yalie has been the sole breadwinner for her three school-going children. "I don't know how to read and write," Yalie, who belongs to the indigenous Lotha tribe, told IndiaSpend. "So, I couldn't have done any other job apart from street vending even if I wanted to."

It has been nearly 20 years since Yalie began street vending. She earns somewhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs