Delhi’s Street Vendors: Surviving Heat and Neglect

Social Issues Social Inequalities and exclusion

Posted by NewAdmin on 2025-05-12 08:55:11 |

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Delhi’s street vendors, the heartbeat of the city’s informal economy, are wilting under the 2025 summer heatwave. With temperatures soaring past 40°C, vendors like Raju, a fruit seller in Chandni Chowk, work 12-hour shifts under relentless sun, earning barely enough to afford a meal. The lack of shade, water stations, or affordable healthcare leaves them vulnerable to heatstroke and exhaustion. Many, hailing from marginalized communities, migrated to Delhi seeking better lives but found themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty and neglect. Their carts line bustling streets, yet their struggles remain invisible to policymakers. The city’s urban planning prioritizes glitzy malls and flyovers, sidelining the vendors who feed millions daily. Temporary shelters or cooling stations, promised during election campaigns, are nowhere in sight. Vendors report losing customers as footfall drops in the scorching afternoons, slashing their already meager incomes. Women vendors face additional challenges, juggling childcare and safety concerns in crowded markets. The absence of financial aid or loan waivers pushes many into debt, with no safety net to fall back on. Advocates argue for immediate relief—mobile water vans, subsidized healthcare, and designated vending zones with basic amenities. Long-term, integrating vendors into Delhi’s economic framework through skill training and microfinance could offer stability. Yet, bureaucratic apathy and fragmented policies hinder progress. As Delhi modernizes, its vendors risk being left behind, their resilience tested daily by heat, hunger, and hardship. Delhi’s street vendors — the lifeline of the city’s informal economy — are battling not just poverty but an unforgiving summer. With temperatures routinely crossing 45°C in May 2025, the capital’s iconic street corners, bazaars, and thoroughfares now resemble heat chambers. Vendors like Raju, a 38-year-old fruit seller in Chandni Chowk, begin their days at dawn and end well after dusk, working under direct sunlight with no shade, clean drinking water, or restrooms nearby. “I barely sell enough to cover the cost of ice to keep the fruits fresh,” he says, wiping sweat off his brow with a soiled towel. Many vendors operate without licenses or permanent setups, making them easy targets for eviction and harassment. Their economic precarity has only deepened under the impact of extreme climate events — especially this summer’s relentless heatwave, the worst in over a decade. In markets like Sarojini Nagar and Lajpat Nagar, once brimming with footfall, vendors now sit idle through long afternoons. “Customers only come out after sunset,” says Shaheen, a 50-year-old bangle seller. “By then, half of my stock is wilted or spoiled.” For women vendors, the crisis is multifaceted. Aside from the health risks, they must also contend with the lack of toilets, safety concerns, and the burden of caregiving. “My two daughters sit under the cart while I sell. There is no crèche, no shade, nothing for them,” says Meera, a vendor from Seelampur. "I can’t leave them at home; there’s no one to watch them." Invisible Yet Essential Despite contributing significantly to the urban food chain — from morning chai stalls to late-night snack carts — street vendors remain peripheral in the eyes of city planners. The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, promised them dignity and rights. Yet, implementation remains patchy. Vending zones are either unmarked or too far from footfall-heavy areas, making survival even harder. The current crisis has revealed glaring gaps in the city's disaster preparedness for its most vulnerable citizens. No government-run cooling stations have been operationalized despite being listed in disaster management plans. Healthcare remains unaffordable, and the availability of public water sources has dwindled. Most vendors rely on private clinics or home remedies — unaffordable luxuries for many. Health on the Line Doctors report a rise in heatstroke, dehydration, and fainting incidents among low-income workers, especially street vendors. “They're out in the sun all day with minimal water intake. Many come in with low blood pressure, severe fatigue, or burns on their feet,” says Dr. Arvind Sharma from a community clinic in East Delhi. Vendors with chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension are especially vulnerable, yet most have no health insurance.

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