Urban Street Vendors and Rural Urban Migration of Assam with Special Reference to Covid -19

Abstract

Street traders have been rendering a significant role in the economy of Assam over the decades. The informal sector has been facing various challenges whereas government policies for the street traders are inadequate and insufficient. The magnitude of street vendors has been rising in urban and semi-urban areas of Assam in the post globalisation era which poses an emerging threat to the district administrators, town planners and public. A sample of 400 street vendors of sample cities of Guwahati, Tezpur and Jorhat of Assam have been analysed with respect to rural-urban migration. This study attempts to explore certain aspects of street vendors of the state in relation to Covid-19. It endeavours to highlight the changes in the way of life of migrant street vendors, their economic habits and government’s measures to rehabilitate them in eking out their livelihood and reduce their economic crisis arising out of Covid-19.