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Vyavahare, K [C-1023] I
ABSTRACT
Street vending is an important source of livelihood for nearly 1.1 Crore of Indian
population. A substantial number of vendors are found in the urban areas. Street food
vending is a prevailing and distinctive part of a large unorganized retail sector in Mumbai
city, the capital of Maharashtra. The paper attempts to gain insight into the business of
street food vendors: highlight the problem areas and provides an overview of the street
food vending system in the mega city of Mumbai. It analyses the organizational structure
and changing institutional arrangements of the urban street food vending system, and
their by examining the role of street food in the urban food provisioning system. Key
research was carried out to collect qualitative data on these issues. Entrenched in a
literature review, Business strategies, major problems and challenges of the street food
vending in Mumbai are discussed and suitable strategies provided to bring street food to
mainstream food choices of the cosmopolitan population of the city.
Keywords: Street food vending, street vendors, unorganized retail sector, food safety,
Mumbai (earlier known as Bombay)
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Vyavahare, K [C-1023] II
DECLARATION
I declare that this Dissertation is the result of my own individual efforts and that it
conforms to university, departmental and course regulations regarding cheating and
plagiarism. No material contained within this Dissertation has been used in any other
submission, by the author, for an academic award.
Student Name: Kevin Vyavahare
Date:
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Vyavahare, K [C-1023] III
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT..................................................................................................... I
DECLARATION ............................................................................................II
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................. III
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................... VI
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................ VI
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................VII
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT......................................................................... VIII
CHAPTER: 1 .................................................................................................. 2
STREET FOOD VENDING - RECHRISTENED ......................................... 2
1.1 Purpose of the Study.............................................................................. 4
1.2 Objectives of the Study ......................................................................... 4
1.3 Scope and Limitations ........................................................................... 4
1.2 Structure ................................................................................................ 5
CHAPTER: 2 .................................................................................................. 8
MUMBAI’S URBAN STREET FOOD VENDING...................................... 8
2.1 Historical Significance of Street Food Vending ................................... 9
2.2 Role of Street Vendors in the Urban Informal Sector of Mumbai...... 10
2.3 Street Food Business and its Working Strategies ............................... 11
2.4 Access of Street Vendors to Market and Market Relations ................ 13
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2.4.1 Infrastructure and Service Provision............................................. 14
2.5 Concerns Regarding Street Vending................................................... 15
2.5.1 Food Safety: Major Issue Related to Street Food Vending.......... 16
2.5.2 Laws and Regulations in the Context of Food Vending .................. 17
2.6 Present Street Food Scenario in India ................................................. 18
2.7 Street Food Innovation and Contemporary Branding Mantras........... 19
2.8 South Mumbai – Business Hub for Street Food Vendors................... 20
CHAPTER: 3 ................................................................................................ 28
FIELD WORK AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.............................. 28
3.1 Research Title...................................................................................... 28
3.1.1 Methodology and Data Sources.................................................... 28
3.2 Sampling Design ................................................................................. 28
3.2.1 First Stage ..................................................................................... 29
3.2.2 Second Stage................................................................................. 29
3.2.3 Third Stage.................................................................................... 29
3.2.4 Total Sample Size ......................................................................... 29
3.3 Data Collection Tools.......................................................................... 30
3.3.1 Questionnaire ................................................................................ 30
3.3.2 Interview Methods ........................................................................ 31
3.4 Demographic and Social Profile ......................................................... 31
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3.4.1 Educational Profile........................................................................ 31
3.4.2 Level of Income ............................................................................ 32
CHAPTER: 4 ................................................................................................ 34
RESEARCH FINDINGS.............................................................................. 34
4.1 Items Sold by Street vendors in Each Category.................................. 35
4.1.1 Fruits and Vegetables.................................................................... 35
4.1.2 Types of Street Chats .................................................................... 35
4.1.3 Types of Street Snacks.................................................................. 36
4.1.4 Types of Street Sweets.................................................................. 36
4.1.5 Types of Street Beverages ............................................................ 37
4.2 Occupational Activities and Distribution Chains................................ 45
4.3 Physical and Natural Resources .......................................................... 51
4.4 Livelihood Strategies........................................................................... 52
4.5 Security of Work ................................................................................. 52
4.6 Safety at Work Place ........................................................................... 53
CHAPTER 5: ................................................................................................ 54
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ........................................... 54
References..................................................................................................... 62
Appendix....................................................................................................... 70
Pictures.......................................................................................................... 76
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Vending Location ……………………………………………………………. 34
Figure 2: Food Sold by Street Vendors ………………………………………………... 35
Figure 3: Consumers Suggestions on How to Improve Street Food Vending ………… 39
Figure 4: Acceptability of European Light Food (Waffles, Pancakes, Crepes etc.) …... 39
Figure 5: When is Street Food Purchased ……………………………………………... 40
Figure 6: Reasons to Buy from Street Food Vendors …………………………………. 41
Figure 7: Daily Spending of Consumers on Street Food ……………………………… 42
Figure 8: Most Preferred Street Food Items …………………………………………... 43
Figure 9: Street Food that Consumers Would Never Buy …………………………….. 43
Figure 10: Major Problems of Vendors According to a) Their own Statements
b) Consumers’ Statements ……………………………………………………………... 44
Figure 11: Involvement of the Other People in the Street Food Vending Business …... 44
Figure 12: Distance from Home to Work ……………………………………………... 47
Figure 13: Educational Background of Customers ……………………………………. 49
Figure 14: Income Level of Customers in Rs. ………………………………………… 49
Figure 15: Age of Street Food Vendors ……………………………………………….. 50
Figure 16: Start of Business …………………………………………………………… 50
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Total Sample of Street Food Vendors Chosen from each Study Area ……….. 30
Table 2: Total Sample of Street Food Consumers Chosen from each Study Area …….. 30
Table 3: Items Sold by Street vendors in Each Category ……………………………... 35
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FSSA Food Safety and Standards Authority
HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
HUPA Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
IMF International Monetary Fund
NASVI National Alliance of Street Vendors of India
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
UN United Nations
WCCA World Class Cities for All Campaign
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank Chef. Hemant Gokhale, my mentor and my guide for his continuous
support in completion of my dissertation by showing me the right kind of approach
towards the topic and the need to be persistent in accomplishing the goals.
A special thank you goes to Mr. SibaPrasad Rath, who always had an encouraging word
for me and for being there to listen and to give advice.
There patience, kindness and willingness to give me this opportunity is greatly
appreciated.
I would also like to show my personal appreciation to all respondents who managed to
take out their time and give me their valuable suggestions and inputs. I would also like to
thank my colleagues and seniors, who were always selfless and willing to help and
support me throughout the course of this dissertation.
Finally yet importantly, I would like to thank, my parents, for giving me life in the first
place, for educating me, for unconditional support and encouragement to pursue my
interest.
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"In a lot of ways I think food is starting to take the place in culture that
rock and roll took 30 years ago, in that eating has become incredibly
political. And just as the street has always dictated fashions on music and
other things, it's starting to happen that way in food."
—Jonathan Gold, (L.A. Weekly food critic)
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CHAPTER: 1
STREET FOOD VENDING - RECHRISTENED
“When people wore hats and gloves, nobody would dream of eating on the street. Then
white gloves went out of style and, suddenly, eating just about anything in the street
became OK."
- Jane Addison (2008)
India represents one major region of worldwide mega-urbanization worldwide. Presently,
the country has forty large cities/urban areas with a population of more than one million
people. A total of some 140 million Indians, or 13% of the national population, live in
these cities. The Indian standing of cities by size is headed by Mumbai, Delhi and
Kolkata; each of these mega cities counting more than 16 million residents. According to
UN estimates, Mumbai will cross the 20 million mark by 2010, Delhi about five years
later, followed by Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad (UN 2006). According to Dittrich
(2004), these major cities contribution to the national economy has increased from 20%
in 1951 to approximately 50% in 2001.
In the context of globalization and economic liberalization processes India’s large cities
are also being faced with profound urban reformation and they are growing much faster
than their infrastructures, ecological overload, insufficient housing development and the
disparity of extreme poverty and wealth living side by side.
Latest studies show that city dwellers in India are particularly exposed to food insecurity
and malnutrition. Yet, research on urban food systems is still insufficient. The present
study focuses on one important part of the urban food provisioning system: the street
food vending system.
According to Bhowmik (2005), a street food vendor is broadly defined as a person who
offers goods for sale to the public without having a permanent built-up structure from
which to sell.
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Street vendors may be at a standstill, in the sense that they occupy space on the
pavements or other public/private spaces, or they may be mobile i.e. carrying their
products from place to place on push carts or in baskets. For the urban poor, street
vending is one of the major means of earning their livelihoods, as it requires minor
financial inputs and the skills involved are low.
Street vending has been a vital part of India’s urban history and culture. During the last
decade, the major cities have seen a substantial increase in the number of street food
vendors, especially after the introduction of policies relating to structural adjustment and
liberalization. The main reason for this is the increasing entry of rural labour, informal
processes and the insufficient capacity of formal economic sectors to create adequate
numbers of new jobs for persons with low education background. The actual total number
of street vendors nationwide is estimated at more than 10 million, out of which 30 to 35%
of them selling street food products (Singh 2000).
Studies on street food vendors in India are uncommon and focus mainly on a few cities.
In 2000, a comprehensive study was organize by the National Alliance of Street Vendors
in India (NASVI), which showed how these people are exploited and harassed by the
authorities. Other significant findings of the study highlight both the role of street
vendors in providing cheap food to urban dwellers and the employment potential of the
street –vending system (Bhowmik 2000). In the mega city of Mumbai, few detailed
studies on the street- vending system have been conducted until now and thus this study
aims in understanding the street food vending system in Mumbai and their by giving
insights into livelihood- related issues of the vendors and their business strategies. The
author will also try to see the opportunity as an entrepreneur.
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1.1 Purpose of the Study
This study aims in understanding the street food vending and its business/working
strategies and the problems faced by them in the city of Mumbai and there by seeing the
entrepreneurial need of Mobile Vending Carts of European light food in south Mumbai
for younger generation. Also the aim of the study is to examine the market demand and
consumer choice of European light food in south Mumbai and the consumer demand and
preferences of healthy European light food in south Mumbai.
Finally researcher after observing the market scenario will try to establish Mobile food
vending cart outlets across the city serving European light food i.e. waffles, pancakes,
sandwiches etc.
1.2 Objectives of the Study
Based on the above discussion, the broad objective of the study is to understand the role
of street food vending in the city of Mumbai in terms of its business and its strategies.
Also the researcher would like to know the consumers attitude towards Indian street food
and vendors and their by also would be evaluating street food vendors attitude towards
the market and the consumers. Finally researcher will be finding out the feasibility of a
mobile food cart as per requirement for the business of European light food.
1.3 Scope and Limitations
The main limitations of the study would be that it is limited to the city of Mumbai
(South-Mumbai) and the since very few studies have been done on the issue of street
food vending in Mumbai, there is a scope for further study on street vending and
vendors.
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1.2 Structure
The primary research information will be collected through depth interviews, field
surveys, questionnaires and observations. Several field surveys will be conducted to
collect primary data through questionnaire administration. Table research and secondary
sources will be used for secondary research.
The following model of five chapters is intended in structuring of the dissertation. The
introduction chapter of the dissertation will present the aim of our work; the relevant
literature review that will help to provide the rationale for our work; the statement of
objectives; and the scope and limitations of our study. The second chapter literature
review will involve a review of secondary literature in order to set a conceptual and
theoretical framework to our work. The third chapter Research Methodology will try to
justify the methodologies that have been selected to address the research question.
Chapter four Results and Discussion will talk about results based on research
methodology and their findings. Finally chapter five Conclusion and Recommendation
will begin by providing a brief summary and then the main findings, the limitations and
scope for future research and recommendations.
Reference
Acho-Chi, C. (2002), The mobile street food service practice in the urban economy of
Kumba, Cameroon, Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 23 (2), pp. 131-148.
[Online] Available at:
<www.geo.ntnu.edu.tw/faculty/moise/words/information/economy/retail%20geography/r
24.pdf> [Accessed 25th
February 2010]
Bhowmik, S. K. (2007). “Street Vendors in Urban India: The Struggle for Recognition”.
in A Morales and J. Cross (Eds.), Street Entrepreneurs: People, Place and Politics,
Routledge, New York.
Kumar, R and Singh, A (2009) Empowering the Street Vendors in Changing Indian
Cities, [online] Available at; <http://www.nasvinet.org/userfiles/file/case%20study%20-
empowering.pdf> [Accessed 10th
January 2010]
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National Policy on Urban Street Vendors (2006), Report and Recommendation, May,
Available at:
<http://nceus.gov.in/Street%20Vendors%20policy.pdf> [Accessed 2nd
January 2010]
Nirathron, N (2007) The Spicy Taste of Entrepreneurship: Street Food Sellers and
Economic Development, [online] Available at:
<http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Feature_stor
ies/lang--en/WCMS_081825/index.htm> [Accessed 15th
February 2010].
“Report on conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganized
Sector”, National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS),
August 2007.
Singh, V (2002) BCC wheels out plan for cleaner street food, Times of India, Jan 3,
[online] Available at:
<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore-times/BCC-wheels-out-plan-for-
cleaner-street food/articleshow/2112967.cms> [Accessed 13th
December 2009].
Somvanshi, M (2009) Street food: Innovation is their brand mantra, Economic Times
Bureau, Jun 21, [online] Available at:
<http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/the-sunday-et/backpage/Street-food-
Innovation-is-their-brand-mantra/articleshow/4681994.cms> [Accessed 21st February
2010].
Taylor, B., Sinha, G., and Ghosal, Taposh. (2009), Research Methodology: A Guide for
Researchers in Management and Social Sciences, PHI Learning Private Limited, New
Delhi.
Thekaekara, M (2009) Saving the Street Vendors of 'Incredible India' One world South-
Asia, Apr 9, [online] Available at:
<http://southasia.oneworld.net/fromthegrassroots/saving-the-street-vendors-of-incredible-
india> [Accessed on 15th
February 2010]
Tinker, I. (1997) Street foods, Oxford, New York
Vision Mumbai (2003): ‘Transforming Mumbai into a World-Class City: A Summary of
Recommend’ by McKinsey and Co.
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“The best way to experience the real food that fuels and drives a
community, however, is to sample the street food. The food from the
roadside stands, markets, open-air stalls, carts and wagons, and small
cafes and bars captures the essence of life in that culture. This food is
available 24/7, not just put on because there is a guest. It is real, robust,
and a gauge of how people live and what values are important to the
community”.
- Kime, T. (2007) Street Food
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CHAPTER: 2
MUMBAI’S URBAN STREET FOOD VENDING
“Street food of Mumbai is a stunning visual documentation of the mind-boggling
array of roadside snacks available in even the remotest corner of the city, from masala
chai to vada-pao, from parathas to chhole-bhature…”
- Bergerson, S. (2009), Street Food of India
Street vendors are part of life in a city like Mumbai. Street vending serves as a livelihood
basis and major source of income for many people who do not fit into the informal
economic sector. As being one major group of street vendors, street food vendors in
Mumbai make up an important part of food provisioning system. Aside from the vendors
themselves, this sub-system is involved in the production, cooking and transport of the
food, as well as owners of pushcarts. The literature suggests that street food vending not
only serves as an important source for many people in the business, but it also contributes
to the food security of the poor and the lower middle-class strata of Indian urban society
(FAO 1995).
Even more so as the demand for street food in Mumbai is soaring new heights, the
possible reasons for this are the rise in urban population through migration of rural job
seekers to urban centers, poor economic conditions, including low wages and high
unemployment and travel requirements for workers who live far away as well as
increasing number of women being employed, who, as a result, have very little time left
for cooking (Bhat 2000; Foods & Nutrition News 2004). At the same time, street vendors
are continuously struggling to secure their living with the formal part of the urban
economy.
In the present urban Mumbai, lavish skyscrapers and super-malls jostling with slums for
space reflect deepening socio-economic polarization and increasing spatial
fragmentation.
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Under these rapidly –changing circumstances, urban government priorities shift and
policies change and these changes and new policies also affect the urban roadside street
food vending system and the people involved in it.
2.1 Historical Significance of Street Food Vending
As per Anon (1996); Mosupye and Von Holy, (1999), Street foods are actually foods and
beverages prepared and/or sold by vendors in streets and other public places for instant
consumption or eating at a later time without further processing or preparation. Street
foods are said to provide a source of readily available, inexpensive, nutritional meals,
while providing a source of income for the vendors, although several concerns are raised
over their safety and quality.
Street food vending began in New York as early as 1691 when pushcart peddlers were
first regulated. It emerged as a striking occupation for new immigrants who had modest
money and few opportunities to find other jobs. Vending enabled them to achieve
financial firmness while they struggled to find their footing in a new world. And soon
selling food and general items on the streets became popular.
Coming to Indian food vending businesses, it began during medieval, when chaatwallahs
(vendors selling savoury snacks) visited mohallahs (an area of a town where a large
community lives) to sell chaats (savoury snacks) to the womenfolk in the afternoons. The
women enjoyed their chaat as it gave them an excuse to socialize and exchange gossip,
since they were confined within the four walls of their homes, says food historian
Pushpesh Pant. According to Vir Sanghvi (television journalist, columnists and talk show
host), most chaats/street food have their roots in Uttar Pradesh though Delhiites like to
claim that it originated in the Moghul court on the basis of the fact that Emperor Babar
brought it from Samarkand (A city of southern Uzbekistan)
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Street food vending as a profession has been in existence in India since times immemorial
and perhaps considered the oldest form of retail activity. According to Bhowmik (2003),
Street food vending has a long historical presence in Mumbai, providing essential
services to most of the population and enabling in direct employment for over three lakh
people, in addition to indirectly employing hundreds of thousands.
2.2 Role of Street Vendors in the Urban Informal Sector of Mumbai
“Mumbai evokes strong and often conflicting emotions. It repels, it fascinates, it
enervates and it stimulates. It is a city of clamorous streets, of jostling neighborhoods
and of markets permeated by the smell of fruit, raw meat, fresh fish and spices. It is
more than a city; it is a sensual and unforgettable experience. Just like its food.”
- Margaret Deefholts (2008)
In the city of Mumbai, the street foods play an important socio economic role in terms of
employment potential in serving the food at prices affordable to the lower and middle-
income groups (Wickware1998). It is also considered as the very soul of a country or
region’s tradition. street food shows the ways of common people reflecting the way of
life, race, and religion.
According to National Commission on Labour as mentioned by (Bhowmik 2001), street
vendors are identified as self-employed workers in the informal sector who offer their
labour for selling goods and services on the street without having any permanent built-up
structure (Bhowmik 2001).
It would not be surprising to know that food sold on the streets of this great city of
Mumbai has gained more recognition than the food served in some of the upscale
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restaurants that mark the city and one of the reasons behind it is that the food sold on the
streets is not only temptingly delicious but also affordable.
Mumbai street food vendors sustain up urban population by providing daily requirements,
as said by Tiwari, (2000) and this is enough of a reason that Mumbai has witnessed for
containing highest street vendors among all major cities in India. Also according to him,
urban youth prefers to have a quick grab of street foods served along the stalls because
products sold by them are typically fresh, affordable and that they don’t keep yesterday's
food just like normal restaurants do.
A Study by Bhowmik, (2001) found that around 30 percent of Mumbai workers/ young
professionals as well as students have their first meal of the day from street food vendors,
there by giving a clear picture that the purchase of street foods is not confined to poor
households.
Food Street vendors are a part of the infamous “informal economy” – which is a kind of
abhorrence to the likes of the World Bank and IMF, due to which they do not have
business in a modern market economy. In spite of no safety nets like social security or
welfare benefits, street vendors are hard-working, entrepreneurial individuals who
contribute to the economy instead of being a drain on it.
2.3 Street Food Business and its Working Strategies
Michael Norton who is a British author, intellectual and innovator remarked. “The
different levels of activity on Indian streets are fascinating. There are sellers sitting at
ground level on the pavements, and then there are the carts and pavement vendors,
then the street level small shops and finally the big shops.” It takes a foreigner to make
you look anew at what we consider ordinary and mundane.
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Mobile food vendors working in wealthier areas or in the most high-profile parts of the
city have, in fact, been working and living in the city for a long time, since only the
people who have lived and worked in the city for years would have access to those
relatively more profitable spaces in the first place.
Also many food vendors cannot simply set up their stall where and when they delight,
because the unlicensed food vendors will elucidate that everyone around them knows this
is their spot and with such claims carry with them the power of identification among
other hawkers in the area and among the nearby shopkeepers and residents.
Moreover, these claims to space often have to do with the unsanctioned recognition of the
state, which is established through ‘hafta’ (Kind of a weekly/monthly bribe) and long-
term personal interaction with various municipal workers (Chatterjee 2004).
Most traders position themselves at strategic points with heavy human traffic, while
others walk from one place to the other. They locate themselves along main roads and
streets, near shopping centers or at corners where they can be seen by pedestrians and
motorists. Traders settle in streets instinctively without any authorized allocation.
However, the case study from Kenya shows that there are informal methods used in
locating and operating within a particular site. A few traders confer with the owners of
neighboring yard, others negotiate with acquaintances, others, are allocated spaces by the
Local Authorities, while some share with friends and colleagues. (Mitullah, W 2003)
While the municipal authorities in the cities view vending sites as momentary, the
vendors view them as permanent. It is the urban authorities’ opinion of street trading as
temporary that makes them not see the need to provide vendors with proper market
facilities. Traders use various structures, including tables, racks, wheel burrows,
handcarts, and bicycle seats to display their goods. Others exhibit their goods on the
ground over a mat or gunny bag, while others simply cart their commodities on their
hands, heads and shoulders. (Mitullah, W 2003)
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According to the Barth, (1983), in spite of consumer's adequate purchasing power fellow
hawkers lead to relatively low mark-ups (averaging 40 percent) on street foods because
of competition. However, the advantage that vendors have is that they can often provide
items at lower prices than other retailers can since they have lower rent and capital
equipment expenses. In addition, because ingredients are bought in huge quantities and at
the cheapest markets, the cost of a single serving is quite competitive with home cooking
and often less expensive because vendors cater for numerous consumers. Street foods can
be an exceptional value for consumers if they have easy access to stalls; there is fair
competition; overheads are kept low; sanitary conditions are acceptable; and the
nutritional value of meals is high.
Also it’s estimated that the total all India turnover of business by street vendors is at least
Rs 86,000 crores. In Delhi alone, their turnover is over 3000 crore, (Ministry of Urban
Development and Poverty Alleviation in 2002)
2.4 Access of Street Vendors to Market and Market Relations
According to Mitullah (2003) the bazaar for street vendors is largely the pedestrians who
pass by on their own businesses. In a few/many cases, especially when street vendors
have done business in one spot for a long time, customer relations develop thereby
increasing the market beyond the pedestrians. Some street vendors are in search of
customers in offices, homes and beyond the city areas where they are based. This is quite
prevailing among those who have invested significantly in the street trade, especially
those who use trucks, pick-ups and bicycles. Such vendors deal in cooked food, fruits,
vegetables and clothes. Overall, the high transport costs and low profits forbid street
traders from accessing better markets in most of the situations.
Also what is observed is that the market dealings are reciprocal, except in cases where
there is extreme competition among street vendors. Poor location of business, little
purchasing power among customers and unpredictability of customers who take goods on
credit also affects the market.
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In addition, the reason for being less professional is due to low technical education
among vendors and low access to current information communication technologies on
yield information hinders their performance in business marketing. Other factors that
affect the market include: use of obnoxious language by male customers as reflected in
the case of Uganda and the high levels of insecurity as reflected in the Uganda, Ghana
and Kenya case studies.
2.4.1 Infrastructure and Service Provision
Most street vendors function in places that are deficient in infrastructure and services
such as access to roads, water, electricity, refuse collection, sanitary and storage facilities.
In few trading sites there is refuse collection done, but water and sanitation, electricity,
storage and day care facilities are lacking. The urban authorities on the other hand use the
fact that the traders are not licensed, as an explanation for not providing services.
Still, in many of the cities street vendors are charged daily fees, which is cumulatively
more costly than the cost of an annual license. Since the street vendors either lack or have
weak links, they are not able to foyer for service provision and fair fees (Mitullah, W
2003).
Transporting goods is also a problem for most /all street vendors. Often, the vendors
cannot manage to pay for the cost of motor vehicles and they have to rely on porters,
wheel barrows, trolleys and handcarts. The transport situation is further compounded by
the lack of storage facilities. This shows that each day, the vendors have to carry their
commodities to and from sites of operation, because the spaces are not planned for trade
and therefore do not have infrastructure and services. In South Africa, some Local
Authorities have managed to provide storage facilities but the facilities are so expensive
that an average vendor cannot afford. For example, in Kenya, the vendors pay night
security personnel to ensure security of commodities left open at the sites of operation.
Whereas in Uganda, it was noted that vendors operate in harsh and uncertain conditions
and work in open spaces without shelter, and lack storage.
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The few existing garbage dumps overflow with waste due to irregular collection by
authorities. In streets of Mumbai, loads of uncollected garbage is a common sight around
vendors markets or street and roadside areas where vendors operate.
2.5 Concerns Regarding Street Vending
According to Dr. Bhowmik (2001), Professor of Sociology, Mumbai University, street
vending is actually “a natural market formed because of local needs”. Conservative
estimates that the number of street vendors in Mumbai is around 250,000, but out of
which only around 14,000 are licensed and thus it is very much clear that Municipal
authorities use the licensing system only as an instrument of terror and extortion and this
is often experienced as a buyer when we see vendors running helter and skelter on the
approach of a Municipal truck, as if it is a goonda (street-language word in Hindi for a
criminal) raid.
Millions of Indian street vendors face a mix of problems such as high rental fees,
including bribes, which in turn cause their illegal status in India. (Bhowmik, 2001)
According to a journalist, in Delhi, Even those who have licensed stalls are not spared
and mostly destroyed or confiscated. Most of the time they are then expected to pay a
huge fine to get their pushcarts and goods released.
Often the vendors cannot pay such huge fines and bribes demanded of them for releasing
their goods and thus have to start from scratch again. It is also been observed on the basis
of studies done by NGOs, that new entrants into street vending, are routinely beaten,
humiliated and abused by the police. Even more these continuous economic and physical
assaults not only decrease their incomes, but also destroy their self-esteem and
confidence.
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2.5.1 Food Safety: Major Issue Related to Street Food Vending
Consumers who are fascinated by convenience and low prices may overlook aspects of
hygiene or sanitation. In some cases, these customers are deficient in understanding the
actual safe food-handling practices and the probability for food borne diseases.
The main factor that currently worries working population as well as younger generation
is the hygienic-sanitary aspect and quality of food. From a health standpoint the sale of
food in public places is highly controversial, which represents a serious threat to
consumer health and is a matter of great importance for public health, chiefly because of
improper hygienic techniques in most of the Mumbai’s food stalls.
According to the study done by Bryan et al., (1997) there has been definite established
links between street food and disease. Also they usually have a inadequate infrastructure,
with limited access to drinking water, toilets, water disinfecting methods, refrigeration or
ice, as well as to hand washing and waste disposal facilities.
In addition, the raw materials are usually of poor quality and inappropriately stored in
temperatures that are not safe, for a long period of time (FAO/OPAS, 1994).
In the study by Bryan (1988b), it was noticed that time and temperatures are important
variables when it comes to controlling the growth of pathogenic bacteria and toxins.
The major problem face by food vendors is almost related to handling, inadequate or
insufficient storage and poor hygienic conditions, which end up with the risk of
contracting food-borne disease, is high.
The hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system in food production is
suggested to ensure safety. This method may be employed at all stages in the food chain
in order to recognize and characterize the critical points involving hazards and to
establish priorities for intervention and control (Lucca & Torres, 2002; Vela &
Ferna´ndez, 2003).
Eating the chole bhature, kachauri, samosa, aloo chat and pau bhaji peddled by pushcart
vendors can be extremely harmful for health not only because they are exposed to
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roadside dust but also because the vendors use oil that gets rancid after repeated frying.
They also use hydrogenated oil that contains Trans-fatty acid several times more than the
permitable limit. According to a recent health ministry survey in 16 cities, over 90% of
street foods was found to be unsafe for consumption.
Providing food with less investment and more profit was also found to be the first
preference of the vendor, rather than meeting quality and safety requirements (The
survey, conducted by the GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant
Nagar, Uttarakhand, in collaboration with 16 home science colleges)
2.5.2 Laws and Regulations in the Context of Food Vending
City authorities are confronted with different task of solving these problems and defining
the conditions under which street food vendors should be allowed to operate. According
to the FAO, this decision should depend upon an evaluation of the positive socio-
economic and cultural factors in favor of street foods and the potential negative factors,
including traffic clogging, blocking of pavements, gathering of filth and garbage, and the
illegal use of electricity (FAO 1995)
In India there is no special law amending street food vending. But, as it is part of street
vending, it falls under the laws and policies of street vending in general. In 2004, the
National Policy on Urban Street Vending was passed by India’s government, which
stated that the role played by vendors in the society and the economy needs to be given
due credits; however, in reality they are still considered as unlawful entities and are
subject to continuous harassment by police and other civic authorities. This continues
even after the Supreme Court of India ruled that,
“If properly regulated according to the exigency of the circumstances, the small traders on the side
walks can considerably add to the comfort and convenience of the general public, by making available
ordinary articles of everyday use for a comparatively lesser price. An ordinary person, not very affluent,
while hurrying towards his home after a day’s work can pick up these articles without going out of his
way to find a regular market.
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The right to carry on trade or business mentioned in Article 19(1)g of the Constitution, on street
pavements, if properly regulated cannot be denied on the ground that the streets are meant exclusively
for passing or re-passing and no other use.”
Articles 39 (a) and (b) of the Constitution which mentions that the State shall in particular
direct its Policy in a way that –
“(a) the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of
livelihood.
(b) the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so
distributed as best to sub-serve the common good”
Street Vendors provide important services to the urban population while trying to make a
livelihood and by law, it is the responsibility of the State to protect the right of this
segment of population to earn their livelihood.
Therefore, the question in India is not whether street food vending should be permitted,
but rather in what ways vendors should be able to run their business in a growing and
changing Indian metropolis.
2.6 Present Street Food Scenario in India
According to The world class cities for all campaign (WCCA), which was organized in
fast urbanizing metropolis Mumbai and in all its suburbs from 1-17 December, 2009,
their main motive was to make street vending as core issue of Mumbai due to world class
cities preparation. The campaign apart from demanding on stopping the atrocious
behavior of police on street vendors, illegal raids and fine on the street vendors, giving
due recognition to the vendors issue licenses, alerted on issues such as execution of
National Policy for urban street vendors, making the policy makers and administrators to
aware about the condition of the street vendors in Mumbai.
Enlistment of street vendors and street vendors’ organizations are pondering upon
inclusive planning and Availability of loans at low interest and easy installments from
banks at time of pressure and to start small business.
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Also the food processing ministry has launched an initiative to revise street food
campaign – which aims to transform the un-organized street food vendors into more
organized segments under the Food Street scheme.
The ministry has taken an initiative along with some NGOs to upgrade street cuisine in at
least 10 cities in the next couple of months which also includes Mumbai as one of the
cities. As per Subodh Kant Sahai (Minister of State for Food Processing) “We are
planning to do up potential tourist hubs in the country”. Also Directory of Safe Eating
Establishments being prepared by the Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSA),
especially for those visiting Delhi for the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
City Corporation of Bangalore has given green signal on a pilot project, which aims at
setting stricter standards of hygiene for food being hawked on city streets.
The project involves educating and training hawkers in the city on the various aspects of
food vending like cleanliness, preparation and storage, sanitation and personal hygiene.
In addition, a Bill, 2009 have been drafted for the Protection of Livelihood and
Regulation of Street Vending and is forwarded to the state governments for enacting local
legislations to provide for protection of livelihood of urban street vendors and regulate
street vending, as said by the Secretary Kiran Dhingra of Housing and Urban Poverty
Alleviation (HUPA), Government of India.
They are also termed as micro-entrepreneurs; by the HUPA Ministry, which says that it is
the duty of the state governments to protect the rights of street vendors to earn an honest
living.
2.7 Street Food Innovation and Contemporary Branding Mantras
Over many years Street food vending was never been considered as a potential business
for companies consider but now the Companies are willing to step out into the sidewalks
and are launching cart models that are redefining the street food in India. ‘Hog Dog’ was
one of the first new ventures to launch carts on popular streets and malls.
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Following it was Zorawar Kalra’s ‘Hot & Juicy’, Yo China’s ‘Yo-on-the-go’. Recently
Ferns & Petals launched ‘Chatak Chaat’ that serves chaat in a hygienic way. Industry
experts say that restaurants have witnessed a 20% decline in guests due to the economic
slowdown and people are no longer willing to spend on luxurious dining but trying out
small eateries. As a result of which many retail investors and traders, because of low
capital investment and has high chances of success are now experimenting with small
format food chains.
A pilot cart called ‘A la cart’ has been recently launched in Delhi by Chilli Seasonss
(F&B company) as a new street food initiative which serves innovative Pan Asian fusion
food including satays, pita pockets and wraps with a distinct gourmet flavour. “There is a
lot of white space in the street food market and this genre is slowly picking up as more
and more customers realize that it’s more hygienic and economical” - Sheetal Bahal,
CEO of Chilli Seasonss.
With the growing popularity of high-street shopping and mushrooming malls & food
courts, the demand for variety and choices for the consumers has reached a peak.
Tapping into this demand, new players are entering this space to add an international
flavour to the consumers’ palate. Such food carts are now present in high streets, airports,
cinema halls and hypermarkets.
2.8 South Mumbai – Business Hub for Street Food Vendors
South Mumbai is considered to be the richest region in Mumbai, primarily a business
district encompassing Fort area, Nariman Point and Ballard Pier and downtown area of
Mumbai with a well developed infrastructure.
Most of the main offices are located in South Mumbai which forms the nerve centre of
Indian Economy, encompassing the famous Dalal Street which became the famous Indian
Wall Street. This area encircles many foreign establishments. Many prestigious
schools/colleges and professional institutes are within the reach of south Mumbai.
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It houses a significant proportion of prime up market residential neighborhoods of
Mumbai including: Peddar Road, Nepean Sea Road, Breach Candy and also includes
some of the richest boulevards in the world, more prominently the Hanging Gardens, the
Altamont Road and the Carmichael Road.
And because of this importance, South Mumbai is full of street food vendors selling
everything eatable their by trying to indulge you in culinary delight (The Financial Times
Limited 2009)
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“The rudimentary means by which much street food is served bears little
resemblance to the actual make-up of the food itself. There is nothing
unsophisticated about the complexity of the spices, seasonings, and
flavors, or the variety of cooking techniques needed to present the finished
dish. Be it a bowl, a plastic dish, or a plate fashioned from a banana leaf,
it is packed full of delicious ingredients”.
- Kime, T (2007) Street Food
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CHAPTER: 3
FIELD WORK AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Title
Street Food Vending in the Food Provisioning System of Mumbai
The broad objective of the study is to understand the role of street food vending in the
city of Mumbai in terms of its business and its strategies.
Also the researcher would like to know the consumers attitude towards Indian street food
and vendors and their by also would be evaluating street food vendors attitude towards
the market and the consumers. Finally researcher will find out the business Strategies
applied by street food vendors in their businesses and the problems face by them on a day
today basis.
3.1.1 Methodology and Data Sources
The outcome of the study is based on primary data, which looks into the present business
situation of street food vendors in Mumbai. Three-Stage Sampling method, like multi-
stage sampling, which uses the combinations of various sampling techniques (Agresti and
Finlay 1997), has been used to draw sample from Mumbai. The survey was conducted in
the month of February, 2010. The component of analysis as well as chief stakeholder of
the study was the street vendors in Mumbai (South-Mumbai).
3.2 Sampling Design
Mumbai i.e. chiefly South-Mumbai has been selected according to its rapid urbanization,
best commercial part of India, its geographical location and other certain characteristics
such as employment status and wide spread formal retail chain and street trading among
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all major cities in India. As the present research paper is mainly primary data based, three
stage sampling method has been designed to draw sample.
3.2.1 First Stage
When population is scattered over the region and complete lists of the total population is
not available, ‘cluster’ helps to obtain easily for sampling (Murthy 1967). In 1st Stage,
South-Mumbai has been divided into five parts such as, Colaba, Cuffe Parade, Nariman
Point, Malabhar Hill, Walkeshwar Marg, and Dr. Annie Besant Road in terms of volume
of street vendors by using the data provided by NASVI.
3.2.2 Second Stage
Sampling inaccuracy can be reduced either increasing sample size or to make
homogeneity group and since street vending profession is heterogeneity in nature,
stratification method helps to make homogeneous group in that group of workers (Babbie
2001). In each cluster, street vendors have been divided into six segments such as
vegetables vendors, fruits vendors, chat vendors, snack vendors, beverage vendors and
sweet vendors.
3.2.3 Third Stage
In 3rd Stage, according to the heterogeneity number of street vendors in each part, quota
has been set to draw sample from each segment since population was unknown (Babbie
2001; Ahuja 2006). This quota depends on the number of street vendors of each part and
street vendors have been selected at random within each quota.
3.2.4 Total Sample Size
This study covers 50 samples of street food vendors and 30 samples of street food
consumers from the mentioned places in Mumbai. The samples selected from each study
area have been shown in the below table 1 and table 2 which as follows respectively:
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Table 1: Total Sample of Street Food Vendors Selected from each Study Area
Name of the Places Total Sample of Street Food Vendors
Selected
Colaba 12
Cuffe-Parade 10
Nariman-Point 10
Malabhar Hill 6
Walkeshwar Marg 7
Dr. Annie Besant Road 5
Total (n) 50
Source: Own Research Plan
Table 2: Total Sample of Street Food Consumers Selected from each Study Area
Name of the Places Total Sample of street food consumers
Selected
Colaba 12
Cuffe-Parade 10
Nariman-point 4
Malabhar Hill 4
Total (n) 30
Source: Own Research Plan
3.3 Data Collection Tools
3.3.1 Questionnaire
Structured Questionnaire has been used to directly connect with the survey based on the
objectives of this study and thus closed ended and open ended question have been asked
to the respondent (both street food vendors and consumers) and since some of the
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research questions are explorative in nature, open ended questions helped to explore the
current situations.
3.3.2 Interview Methods
Personal interview have been conducted for the purpose through surveyor administered
questionnaire. Personal interview of 50 individual street vendors and 30 consumers and
two key respondents have been conducted during survey - Ms. Tapasya Kaul (Program
Manager NASVI- Mumbai) and Mr. Arvind Singh (Co-coordinator, NASVI) These two
key respondents are basically active members from member based organizations to know
the role of these member based organizations for the street vendors in Mumbai.
After, explaining socio-demographic and economic profiles of the vendors based on
primary data, author has explained the outcomes on the basis of the questionnaire
analysis and interviews carried out.
3.4 Demographic and Social Profile
Street vending occupation is mainly male oriented occupation in Mumbai (Bhowmik
2001) and the result of this study also shows that. The sex composition of the street
vendors in the study area shows that there are around 77 percent of the vendors is men
vendors and about 23 percent is women.
3.4.1 Educational Profile
It was observed that the educational level among street vendors is generally low and Out
of total covered, around 17 percent vendors are illiterate, about 8.5 percent of total
vendors can sign only, and about 8.5 percent have only primary level of education.
Some of vendors having graduation, about 1.5 percent of total vendors, came from the
rural areas in search of better-paid job in the formal sectors in Mumbai but street vending
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is one of the easiest means of earning for livelihood as it requires minor financial input.
Hence, they became street vendors.
3.4.2 Level of Income
The income of street vendors depends on the products they sell, and it varies from trade
to trade, location to location, the volume of trade and terms of trade.
From the questionnaires, it is observed that around 24 percent vendors’ per month income
are between Rs. 3000 and Rs. 4500 while 15.5 percent vendors’ per month income fall
into Rs. 6000 and so on.
It is seen that there are few of the vendors whose income is quite high and it depends
according to their business types, age of the business, location and product they sold.
Interestingly, it is noticed from the data that the profit margin of the vendors those who
sold raw materials, namely, vegetable vendors, fruit vendors, food vendors is quite
striking than others category of vendors. These vendors earn about 50 to 60 percent profit
of their daily sales.
Establishing connections with people and organizations well-known with the street food
vending system of Mumbai was a first step in this research project. Interviews with
experts from different institutions, governmental and non-governmental, were carried out,
namely representatives from the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai, the traffic Police and
the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI).
In addition, twenty consumers (n =30 in all graphs concerning consumers, as indicated
earlier) were interviewed with questionnaires in different locations, namely Colaba, Cuffe
Parade, Nariman Point, Malabhar Hill, Walkeshwar Marg, and Dr. Annie Besant Road.
Observation, literature research and photographic documentation were further methods
engaged during field research.
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Reference
Bales, R.F. (1950), Interaction Process Analysis: A Method for the Study of Small
Groups, Addison-Wesley, Cambridge.
Brenner, M., Brown, J. and Canter, D. (1985), The Research Interview: Uses and
Approaches, Academic Press, New York.
Cannell, C. F and Kahn, R.L. (1989) New Techniques for Pre-testing Survey Questions,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Gill, J. and Johnson, P. (1997), Research Methods for Managers, 3rd ed., Paul Chapman
Publishing, London
Kothari, C.R. (2001), Research Methodolgy: Methods and Techniques, Vishwa
Prakashan, New Delhi.
Oppenheim, A. N. (1992), Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude
Measurement, Continuum, London and New York.
Reeves, T.K. and Harper, D. (1981), Surveys at Work: A Practitioners Guide, McGraw
Hill, London.
Silverman, D. (1993), Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analyzing Talk, Text
and Interaction, Sage Publications, New Delhi
Taylor, B., Sinha, G., and Ghosal, Taposh. (2009), Research Methodology: A Guide for
Researchers in Management and Social Sciences, PHI Learning Private Limited, New
Delhi.
Wax, R.H. (1971), Doing Fieldwork, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.
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IHM-Aurangabad Street Food Vending in the Food Provisioning System of Mumbai
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CHAPTER: 4
RESEARCH FINDINGS
The interview offered insight into different perspectives on the subject, apart from other
remarkable and helpful inputs regarding policies, structures and existing issues
concerning street food vending. Interviews with street food vendors were conducted with
the help of standardized questionnaires. In total, 50 street food vendors were interviewed
(n = 50 in all graphs concerning street food vendors, if not indicated otherwise). Different
areas within the city were selected mainly targeting the South Mumbai region, where
most of the higher income-groups live. The areas included Colaba, Cuffe Parade,
Nariman Point, Malabhar Hill, Walkeshwar Marg, and Dr. Annie Besant Road.
Interviews were conducted in front of railway stations, in residential areas, along main
streets, and in front of business complexes and schools and colleges.
Figure 1. Vending Location
Main Road
49%
Railway
stations
14%
in front of
business
complexes
5%
Schools/coll
eges
13%
Market
8%
Residential
areas
11%
Source: Own Primary Findings
Out of these fifty interviewed vendors, 21 sold different kinds of Snacks, eleven vendors
sold Beverages, ten vendors sold variety of chaats, whereas four vendors sold sweets and
four vendors sold fruits and vegetables (out of which 3 sold fruits and one vegetable).
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Figure 2: Food Sold by Street Vendors
Snacks
48%
Beverages
21%
Fruit and
vegetables
6%
Sweets
7%
Chats
18%
Source: Own Primary Findings
4.1 Items Sold by Street vendors in Each Category
4.1.1 Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits: Apples, bananas, grapes, pineapples, pomegranates, watermelons,
guava, oranges, mangoes (in dry season) etc.
Vegetables: Onions, tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, fenugreek leaves, bitter
gourd, lady fingers etc.
4.1.2 Types of Street Chats
Bhel-Puri: It is a puffed rice dish with potatoes and a tangy tamarind sauce.
Papdi-Chaat: Crispy wafers garnished with a combination of potatoes, tomatoes,
chickpeas, yoghurt and flavored with spices and red and green chutney.
Pani-Puri: Hollow puri made of refined flour and water, fried crisp size small
enough to fit in the mouth and filled with a mixture of water, tamarind, chili, chaat
masala, potato, onion and chickpeas.
Ragda-Pattie: A dish of two parts--ragda, a yellow pea soup and patties.
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Dahi-Balla: It is a black gram balls or dumplings in spiced yogurt, with sweet
Indian sauce.
4.1.3 Types of Street Snacks
Tiffin: Breakfast preparation like different kinds of dosa and puri- bhaji.
Idli: Steamed cakes made of fine batter of black gram and rice, served
with chutney or sambhar.
Dosa: Pancake made with fermented black gram and rice (masala dosa:
dosa filled with potatoes, onion, spices: plain dosa; no filling, etc)
Pakoras: Deep fried snack prepared with thick batter of chickpea/Bengal
gram flour mixed with juliennes of onions and spices.
Pav-bhaji: Consists of bhaji (a tomato- potato-based curry) and the pav,
garnished with coriander and chopped onions
Chole-bhature: It’s a combination of chole (spicy chick peas) and fried breads
called bhatura made of refined flour.
Vada- Pav: Indian burger – deep fried ball of potato mixture with spices and
seasonings sandwiched between pav with spread with sweet and sour sauce.
Egg- bhurji: Shallow fried scrambled egg with mixture of onion, green chilies,
coriander and spices, serve with pav (Indian bread).
Kebabs: Minced meats marinated with different spice and cooked on
skewers on charcoal griller.
Kheema pav: Minced meats cooked with spices and served with pav.
Chinese food: Includes popular dishes like Chilly chicken, chicken fried rice,
Szechwan chicken, chicken lollipops, spring rolls, manchow soup, hakka noodles etc.
4.1.4 Types of Street Sweets
Jalebis: Indian fried sweet made by deep-frying batter in a kind of pretzel
shape then soaked in sugar syrup.
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Malpua: Deep-fat fried patties of thick batter mixture of refined flour and
mashed bananas and soaked in sugar syrup.
Kulfi: Ice-cream made with milk, “khoa” (evaporated milk to remove
moisture), sugar and dried fruits.
4.1.5 Types of Street Beverages
4.1.5.1 Tea/Coffee
Plain Chai: Tea made with sugar, water and milk
Masala Chai: Tea spiked with Masalas (Indian spice powder)
Kali Chai: Black Tea
Adrak Chai: Ginger flavored tea
Special Chai: Tea made with more of milk and simmered for long time
Cutting Chai: Plain Tea made a la minute and served in small glasses
Cream Chai: Tea swirled with Cream
Lemongrass chai: Lemongrass flavored tea
Tulsi Chai: Basil flavored tea
Laung Chai: Tea flavored with cloves
Elaichi Chai: Cardamom flavored tea
Filter Coffee: Coffee drink prepared using a filter
(* Chai – Indian term for Tea)
4.1.5.2 Fruit Juices
Orange Juice, Strawberry Shake, Pine-apple Juice, Mango Shake, Banana Shake,
Watermelon Juice, and Apple Juice etc.
4.1.5.3 Fermented Milk Based Drinks
Chaas: Buttermilk seasoned with salt and chat masala.
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Mint Chaas: Buttermilk flavored with Mint leaves
Tadka Chaas: Buttermilk tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves.
Zeera Chaas Cumin flavored Buttermilk
Lassi: Sweetened blended yoghurt
Mango Lassi: Mango flavored plain lassi
Dryfuit Lassi: Lassi spiked with dry fruit powder
Mint Lassi: Mint flavored lassi
A number of studies on street food safety that have been carried out across India, out of
which some of them in Mumbai points out that street food raise concerns with respect to
their potential for serious food poisoning outbreaks, due to microbiological
contamination, improper use of additives and the presence of adulterants and
environmental contaminants, as food is often not covered, as well as because of the poor
personal hygiene of vendors and improper handling of food, which is very much true as
per the observation carried by the author during the secondary data collection. It was also
seen that there is short of both clean water and facilities for garbage disposal.
The literature also suggests how these problems could be solved, for example, by
allowing the establishments of stalls only in clean and well-kept surroundings- away from
garbage, public urinals and open sewers- arranging ample facilities for providing drinking
water and waste disposal, maintaining close security over food sanitation, and providing
sanitary hygienic education for food vendors, who should be healthy and free from
communicable diseases, wear clean clothes, use clean plates/leaves for serving food, etc.
Majority of the consumers (40 %) as shown in Fig.3 were of the opinion that, by
maintaining personal and the surrounding hygiene, chances are more of consumers to buy
from the same vendors.
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Fig 3: Consumers Suggestions on How to Improve Street Food
Vending
personal /surrounding
hygiene
40%
food sanitaion
30%
quality
17%
great variety
13%
Source: Own Primary Findings
Whereas 30 percent of the interviewed consumers expected vendors to take good food
sanitation approaches, whereas seventeen percent believed in quality as the chief driver
of successful food vending while thirteen percent gave the credit to great variety. Also
when asked if the above suggestions given by the consumers were practiced, will their
purchasing frequency go high and the answers of the majorities were affirmative.
Fig 4: Acceptability of European Light Food ( Waffles, Pancakes,Crepes etc.)
Yes
53%No
37%
I don’t Know
10%
Source: Own Primary Findings
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When the consumers were told about the concept of bringing European light food such as
waffles, pancakes, crepes etc on the streets of South Mumbai by means of Mobile Carts,
fifty-three percent were delighted and were looking forward to the above the mentioned
concept but at the same time there were thirty-seven percent who were satisfies with the
existing food items available on the streets and thus were not enthusiastic about the
concept, whereas ten percent preferred to give no response.
The study found that 43 % of the customers purchase from street food vendors when
passing by or while traveling on the way to another destination. Nineteen percent take a
special trip in order to mainly purchase fruits and vegetables.
Thirty-eight percent said it differed: sometimes they merely stopped by; sometimes they
went specifically to buy food. In general, snacks or beverages were consumed when
passing by, while special trips were more common for fruits or vegetables. Almost half of
the customers had no particular time of the day when they purchased food on the street,
42 % said they bought in the evening, and only 5 % in the morning.
Fig 5: When is Street Food Purchased
passing by
43%
special trip
19%
it differs
38%
a.) Need Based
Source: Own Primary Findings
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morning
5%
evening
42%
no particular
time
53%
b.) Time Slot Based
Source: Own Primary Findings
A number of factors that persuade the consumer’s choice play an important role. These
include cost, convenience and type of food available, the individual’s taste and the
appearance of the food. Availability of food at convenient times and locations for the
consumer are other very important factors.
Fig 6: Reasons to Buy from Street Food Vendors
quality
21%
convenience
33%
low cost
25%
taste
16%
variety
5%
Source: Own Primary Findings
Also, ideas pertaining to location of the street vendors differed. Eight customers accepted
of the zoning system; they shared the opinion that vendors should be provided with a
conveniently set aside area in which to carry out business and that they should no longer
be allowed on the streets where they hinder traffic.
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Three people were against the new regulation, saying that street food vendors should not
be regulated in this way, as it would jeopardize their livelihoods. Nine of the questioned
customers did not have a view on this subject.
When talking about the spending power of the consumers on street food daily, it was
noticed that majority i.e.40 percent of the respondents were spending anywhere between
rupees thirty to rupees fifty. Also there were few who didn’t mind paying more than 80
Rs. Daily on street food, which only justifies that if the food taste good and is convenient,
consumers are ready to spend on an average anywhere between fifty rupees daily.
Fig 7: Daily Spending of Consumers on Street Food
less than 30 Rs.
17%
30 - 50 Rs.
40%
50 - 80 Rs.
20%
More than 80 Rs.
23%
Source: Own Primary Findings
When respondents were asked about the their most preferred food item on street, twenty-
six percent claimed of loving Chinese food, mainly because of its availability, low cost,
taste and mainly portion size. While 20 percent favored Pav-bhaji as their favorite street
food twenty percent conscious about their health went for South-Indian food such as
Masala dosa, idli-chutney etc. seventeen percent enjoyed having hot Vada-pao. Fig.8
shows the most preferred street food items by the consumers.
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Fig 8: Most Preferred Street Food items
pav-bhaji
20%
masala
dosa/idli/vada-
sambhar
20%
chinese food
26%
kebabs
10%
paani-puri /
chat
7%
vada-pav
17%
Source: Own Primary Findings
One of the important analysis that came into light was that the majority of the consumers
abstained themselves from having cold beverages or cold desserts, basically, anything
that included water as well as ice. And the main concern for their trepidation to abstain
from cold beverages/desserts was because of the lack hygiene as well microbiological
factors involved with kind of water used for preparing ice as well as the water used in
making desserts. Also there were twenty-seven percent people who avoided fried items,
while there were seventeen percent who never purchased or consumed meat products on
the streets of South-Mumbai.
Fig 9: Street Food that Consumers Would Never Buy
fried items
27%
cold beverages/desserts
46%
Meat products
17%
No answer
10%
Source: Own Primary Findings
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Figure.10 shows the major problems street food vendors have to face according to their
own and their consumers’ statements.
Figure 10: Major Problems of Vendors According to
a.) Their Own Statements a.)
bribes
53%
No shelter
7%
high taxes
10%
harrassment
13%
debts
7%
traff ic/zoning
10%
Source: Own Primary Findings
Figure 10: Major Problems of Vendors According to
b) Consumers’ Statements b.)
no answ er
45%
bribe/haras
sment
20%
poverty
15%
no
adequate
space
20%
Source: Own Primary Findings
Inducement money had to be paid regularly by one third of the vendors, and those sixteen
vendors named paying bribes as their major problem. Those who did not talk about
bribery as problem said they did not have to pay any.
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It is however, unclear, why some vendors are made to pay and others, selling in the same
area, are not. Having to pay bribes is linked with the problem of zoning and traffic, as
vendors often have to pay to traffic police in order to be allowed to stay on a road or
sidewalk where they are not supposed to sell, because they are said to hinder traffic.
Bribery is also closely linked to harassment, as making vendors pay is one from of
harassing them.
According to vendors, it is also common for traffic police or BMC officials to consume
without paying. Also vending children seem to be the most likely sufferers of this form of
persecution.
Also in the survey, only one under age person was interviewed, as others asked did not
want to give any information. The feeling also emerged that very young vendors often
did not reveal their real age. Other troubles mentioned by vendors were debts, high
taxation, homelessness and the already discussed traffic blockage, which for them has
brought with it the recently introduced zoning system
Fifty percent of customers who were interviewed stated that they were not aware any
problems vendors had to face. Four saw the biggest problem in the unavailability of
proper locations from which to vend.., Street food vendors are not required on the streets
or sidewalks because they are said to cause obstruction. There are no other centrally
located areas nearby with suitable infrastructure available either. Four others said
persecution by traffic police and bribery was the biggest issues. Furthermore, poverty was
seen as a problem, as most vendors earn little, do not have chance to earn their living, and
would therefore be poor if they were not occupied in the street vending business.
4.2 Occupational Activities and Distribution Chains
The occupational activities of street food vendors fall under three main categories:
buying, preparing, and selling the food.
Forty one out of fifty street food vendors sold their items in the same place every day.
Only nine moved through the streets to sell in various places.
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Street food vendors used pushcarts, portable vending plates on wooden stands, baskets,
stable temporary constructions, or the ground as their vending place. Interestingly, there
were hardly any women with pushcarts. At the time of research fort this study, only two
women vendors with a pushcart were working together with other family members.
Women tend rather to sit on the floor; their food items spread on a cloth or on wooden
plank or piled up in a basket in front of them, which they can carry on their heads.
Vendors’ working hours ranged from five to eighteen hours a day, twelve hours on an
average. The greater part was occupied with their business seven days a week, while only
a few worked six days. The number of people involved in the business varied from one to
five. With 42 % (twenty vendors), two-person businesses were most common. Many
worked together with their husband or wife. However, in some cases of the businesses a
child, another family member or someone else not related were also involved in the two-
person businesses. Vendors operating by themselves made up to 38 % of those
interviewed. Also running a snack business always included a minimum of two people;
fruit, vegetables or some kinds of juices did not require the work of more than one
person. Other than that, however, the number of people involved was not dependant on
the kind of food provided. In 12% percent of the businesses three people were involved
and in the remaining 10 % four or more.
Figure 11: Involvement of the Other People in the Street Food
Vending Business
none
37%
husband / w ife
18%
other family
members
14%
others
16%children
12%
no answ er
3%
Source: Own Primary Findings
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According to vendors and Mr. Krishna Prasad Shah, (Vice President, NASVI),
hierarchies between street food vendors do not exist, and they decide between each other
who takes which spot. The daily routine differs between different types of vendors,
different locations, and also between individuals or businesses. However, the overall
business structure is similar.
The daily routine differs between different types of vendors, different locations, and also
between individuals or businesses. However, the overall business structure is similar. Say
for example, from the studies it was observed that most street food vendors prefer to sell
their items close to their houses or just down the road, but the locality from where the
most of them come, just isn’t the market for them and thus had to travel on an average a
distance of 10 km. Also for many, it was very inconvenient to travel far to work, as men
have to push their carts or carry baskets to the vending spot every day.
The range from eleven to fifteen kilometers was the most common for 41 % of vendors,
as could be seen in Fig.12
Figure 12: Distance from Home to Work
5 to 10 km
34%
11 to 15 km
41%
less than 5 km
8%
more than 15 km
12%
no answ er
5%
Source: Own Primary Findings
Often, it was observed that wherever family members were involved in the business of
vending snacks, like tiffin or chat, in most cases it was common that the wives and/ or
mother started preparing the vended food early in the morning.
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Also it was noticed that many male vendors staying with a male relative/other person,
were engaged in pre-cooking at their home base.
Also mostly men were responsible for taking the food and kitchen utensils to the vending
spot and for selling. Children’s duties include helping to sell or prepare food at the stand
or washing the dishes.
Customers certainly make up one significant elements of street vending system.
Therefore, as mentioned earlier twenty consumers were interviewed with questionnaires
in different locations.
As below figures.13 and figure.14 shows, customers of street food vendors come from all
socio-economic classes. The percentage given in this graphs does not necessarily reflect
the real portion of customers from each income-class, however, as better educated and
higher income-classes were more willing to give information and are, therefore, perhaps
overrepresented.
It shows, though, that not only poor but also well-off people purchase street foods. Six
percent of the interviewed customers had a master’s degree, 33 % had a university
degree, 8 % had finished college, 29 % were still in the college, 8 % had completed
primary education (SSC), and another 16 % had never attended school. A distinction
must be made between cooked foods and fruit and vegetables. Most people buy fruit and
vegetables form street food vendors without hesitation. Also the rules for some caste not
to eat outside the home are not followed strictly as they used to be. For those castes, it is
becoming more and more acceptable to eat snacks from street vendors, though they are
more careful because of their concern for health issues.
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Figure 13: Educational Background of
Customers
SSC
8%
degree
33%
master
6%
college
29%
never
16%
inter
8%
Source: Own Primary Findings
Figure 14: Income Level of Consumers in Rs.
less than 8,000
20%
8,000 - 16,000
40%
16,000 - 30,000
25%
30,000 and more
15%
Source: Own Primary Findings
The FAO recognized that, in general, setting up a street food vending business involves a
low-cost investment. In addition, it requires no education or special training; hence it is a
good source of income for the urban poor. The findings of this study have shown that this
is true for Mumbai as well. Even while the educational level of the vendors varied, most
have little or no school education.
Most vendors were between 21 and 40 years old. Twenty percent were under 20 years. 16
% were between 41 and 50, and only a minority of 8 % older than that (figure 15).
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Fig15: Age of Street Food Vendors
31 - 40 years
25%
21 - 30 years
31%
51 - 60 years
6%
41 - 50 years
16%
below 20 years*
20%
61 and above
2%
* One vendor under the age of 14
Source: Own Primary Findings
Street food operations often concerned the work of entire families in the procurement of
the raw materials, preparation and cooking of meals, and their sale. Fifty-three percent of
the vendors started their business because it is a family custom. Most started helping out
as young children and continued their parents’ or other family members’ business. Forty-
two percent claimed it was their own idea to start a business in order to earn some money
and protect their livelihoods. Five percent got on track by applying, and now they work
as employees for owners of pushcarts.
Fig 16: Start of Business
family-
business
53%
own idea
42%
application
(employees
only)
5%
Source: Own Primary Findings
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It seems that there were people that own several food vending carts, usually all selling the
same food; for example one person, owned five push carts, all rents out to sell fruit-
juices. The Owner provided the push cart and necessary kitchen equipment and delivered
fruit, ice and water. The employees earned a fixed amount of money each day, in spite of
how much they sold and the rest went to the employer. These employees were all under
the age of twenty. They were sent to Mumbai by their parents, who lived in villages as far
as in Uttar-Pradesh, Gujarat, in order to earn some money fort the family. They were
provided food and accommodation by their employers and received a fixed payment. All
said they were hoping to be able to be self-governing and own their business one day; for
them it was a way of entering the business.
On the other hand, they also lived away from their families and they did not really have a
choice. One said he had been made to leave school; he would like to go back, but he is
aware of the fact that his family is highly dependant on him. Also food vendors do not
have any social security, as they are considered illegal. In case of illness, they do not
have any kind of insurance that covers the costs of treatment. They are also very
vulnerable to illnesses, as many cannot afford medication or hospitalization.
4.3 Physical and Natural Resources
For the food vending, there is no or only insufficient infrastructure available. For
example, vendors are relying on nearby shops, hotels or public taps for water supply.
Most vendors claimed to get water for free, others said they had to pay for water, as no
clean drinking water for preparing food was available close by. Many vendors do not
have any shelter at their food stand. They are exposed to sun and rain. Hence, in both the
wet and dry seasons the weather causes health problems for the vendors. Many do not
have garbage bins at their stands and generally waste is disposed of on the sidewalks or in
the drains. An additional issue is the lack of hygienic public toilets, which the vendors
could use. At home, most vendors have electricity supply, public taps and availability of
public toilets; they live in rented houses in slums or other low-income areas.
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4.4 Livelihood Strategies
Street food vendors, who were interviewed, did not openly mention any strategies for
improving their situation; claiming that one is like the next. One important point is that
many don’t seem to see a necessity for change, as their situation is good enough to secure
a living. However, reading between the lines reveals that, becoming a vendor in the first
place was often the only available way to secure a livelihood.
When they were asked as to what strategy they employ in order to avoid confrontation
with the police authorities, they said that they do not have any other option than paying
bribes or else their pushcarts or even their food will be taken away.
For some vendors, a way of earning some extra money is to start more than one cart.
Different family members have stands and sell the same foods in diverse places. Part of
the strategy is to choose the best spot for selling the offered food items. The most popular
spots are along main roads, making up more than 50 percent of all the vending locations.
In order to recognize and more thorough livelihood strategies, further research is needed.
4.5 Security of Work
As per as Article 19(1) (g) of the constitution stated that street vendors are recognized as
workers and the Supreme Court ruled that:
“If properly regulated according to the exigency of the circumstances, the small traders
on the side walks can considerably add to the comfort and convenience of the general
public, by making available ordinary articles of everyday use for a comparatively lesser
price. An ordinary person, not very affluent, while hurrying towards his home after a
day’s work can pick up these articles without going out of his way to find a regular
market. The right to carry on trade or business mentioned in Article 19(1)g of the
Constitution, on street pavements, if properly regulated cannot be denied on the ground
that the streets are meant exclusively for passing or re-passing and no other use.”
But they are typically treated as encroachers of public space. Licensing intends to reduce
harassment, and evictions by local authorities and local police.
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But as per the study carried out, it explores that all vendors are unlicensed. Hence, their
job is uncertain and insecure.
4.6 Safety at Work Place
Street Vendors are not trying only to earn a livelihood but also provide valuable services
to the urban population. Thus, it is the duty of the State to protect the right of this
segment of population to earn their livelihood since article 39 (a) of constitution stated
that ‘any citizens, men and women, have equal right to an adequate means of livelihood’.
Thus, the ‘decent work’ is the fundamental rights of any workers or citizens.
But ground reality is different. They are considered as unlawful and eye sore entities. As
a consequence, they face constant harassment by local Police and Municipal Authorities
at work place. However, they are forced to bear some additional burden of harassment
and bribes and other various elements. It is calculated from this study that each street
vendor pays 15 to 20 percent of their daily income as bribes to local police and BMC.
Reference
Adler, P.A. and Adler, P. (1994) Observation Techniques, in N.K.Denzin and Y.S.Guba
(eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Bechhhofer, F., Elliot, B and McCrone, D. (1984), Safety in Numbers: On the use of
Multiple Interviewers, Sociology, Vol.18, no.1
Berry, R. (1994), The Research Project: How to write it, 3rd ed., Routledge, London.
Gill, J. and Johnson, P. (1997), Research Methods for Managers, 3rd ed., Paul Chapman
Publishing, London
Bhowmik, Sharit K. (2005), “Street vendors in Asia: A review.” Economic and Political
Weekly May 28-June 4, pp. 2256-2264
Taylor, B., Sinha, G., and Ghosal, Taposh. (2009), Research Methodology: A Guide for
Researchers in Management and Social Sciences, PHI Learning Private Limited, New
Delhi.
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CHAPTER 5:
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
In the course of their transactions, street vendors add directly to the overall level of
economic activity, and to the provision of goods and services. They are an essential part
of the economy, and their elimination would reduce competition and economic activity.
In many countries, citizens have constitutional rights to choose their occupations and to
engage in entrepreneurial activities. Street vending is one such option, and its suppression
reduces the range of alternatives available to citizens. Even if such rights are not
officially guaranteed, it can be argued that they are fundamental human rights under
“natural law”.
Street food vending is a laboratory for entrepreneurship, family business and social
interaction, involving vendors and customers into the broader monetary and social
system. Many vital entrepreneurial skills are learned and demonstrated out on the street.
Street vending provides entrepreneurial opportunities to people who cannot have enough
money to buy or rent fixed premises. It is a vital bottom step in the ladder of upward
economic mobility, and some street vendors go on to build successful off-street
businesses.
Street vendors greatly enlarge the range of places and times where goods and services
can be provided, and sometimes they also offer goods and services which are not
accessible in off-street locations. As a result, they save effort for consumers, satisfy
demands which might otherwise go unsatisfied, and encourage economic activity which
might otherwise not exist. By increasing competition they help to trim down consumer
prices.
Because of its small capital requirements and its prospective mobility, street vending is a
very effective way to cater for seasonal, irregular and special demands like
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Independence Day flags, umbrellas during a torrential downpour, or hot-dogs after a
major-league sports game.
There could never be sufficient, prolonged demand to sustain comparable fixed, off-street
businesses. Similarly, street vending can experiment out new markets at low cost,
offering goods or services which have never in the past been offered.
Street vending offers its workers substantial elasticity in hours and levels of activity, and
it provides some choices of work locations. Street vending is a noteworthy example of
self-help and grass-roots initiative. Hernando de Soto (1989), the main supporter of this
argument, describes street vendors as the most visible manifestations of a peaceful,
informal uprising by hard-working poor people against an obstructive, “mercantilist”
system — a dysfunctional regulatory state controlled by the vested interests of career
bureaucrats and big business.
This research aimed at providing an insight into the street food vending business of
South-Mumbai beside other various issues related to street food vendors were focused on
as well. The study was primarily based mainly on personal interviews with vendors, their
customers and local officers. The chosen research methodology proved to be satisfactory,
as it was able to answer many questions concerning street food vending business
strategies and the vendors. However, further research is still needed.
The study established that street food vendors make up an important part of the city’s
food provisioning system and contribute significantly to the food security of the urban
poor but higher-income classes also increasingly buy food on the streets. For the vendors
themselves, the street food vending business serves an easily handy income source. There
are great differences in the height of income between the vendors. For example, those
vendors sitting on the ground earn a lot less than vendors with more established
equipment using pushcarts, which gives author an entrepreneurial opportunity of starting
mobile food vending in south Mumbai.
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As the zoning regulations are not fully become obligatory, vendors do not follow them.
They still sell their products in their usual spots. Therefore, for the time being the
budding consequences of these new policies for the street vending system cannot be
evaluated. It turned out that, the new set of laws have made the street vending business
more susceptible to bribery and harassment. With respect to the new regulations, it was
also observed that there is very little political alertness and participation of the street food
vendors. Although there are organizations which stand up for the vendors’ rights, it
seems that this opportunity is not widely valued. Reasons for this could be lack of
political education. Many street food vendors in South-Mumbai are not conscious of the
political situation, nor do many of them take part in political decisions.
Educational programs are needed in order to teach vendors about the hygiene aspects of
their business. The study also showed that consumer profile ha also changed in recent
years. The percentage of better-educated, well-off people seems to have increased, which
gives a valid reason for venturing into mobile food vending of European light food in
south Mumbai, as study showed that majority of p-people were interested in experiencing
that kind of a concept. Also these new groups of consumers are more conscious of the
hygiene problems and health risks that street foods can create. Hence, they insist better
hygiene at the food stands, including waste disposal, covers on food, clean clothing for
vendors, fresh food etc. Looking at the mentioned areas of the whole South-Mumbai in
terms of cleanliness – public toilets on the sidewalks, piles of trash, are regular sight
around food vending carts and undeniably the sanitation hygiene must be improved. It is
clear that this must be along-term process, as street food vendors would need time to
alter, rather than a forced sudden change. In other cities, in Kolkata for example, such
educational programmes and improvements have already been doing well, and most
street food vendors as well as consumers have profited (NASVI 2006). Taking such
encouraging experiences as an example and starting such training in South-Mumbai
might be a step in the right direction as well as would encourage many people to thrive in
this business. Additionally, investments in improvements must not cause an increase in
prices, as the urban population would not be able to afford the products sold by street
vendors anymore.
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Additional research is needed in order to document the changes in the street food vending
businesses resulting from the new regulations. What is more, a deeper insight into the
complex business systems of vendors as well as into existing issues would be necessary
in order to start business-oriented programmes. In order to gain deep insight into the
entire subject, a long phase of research would be required.
Street food vendors are not uniformly spread across the city. They are more of
concentrated heavily in a few locations, and those locations are normally the points with
the highest levels of pedestrian and vehicular clogging. Pedestrians passing through street
markets and people sitting in stationary or slow-moving vehicles are continuously
exposed to the sight of goods and services on sale on the streets, and they will often make
impulse purchases. Additional street vendors settle towards the congestion, because that
is where available demand is concentrated. As a result, through a process of circular and
increasing causation, both street sales and levels of congestion are further increased.
Street vendors repeatedly fail to give receipts and keep accounts, to pay taxes on their
earnings, and to charge sales or value added taxes to their customers. They are always
accused of presenting “unfair competition” to tax-paying off-street businesses,
undercutting their off-street competitors because they pay less overheads and no taxes.
Since they can leave or reposition their businesses more easily, street vendors have
greater opportunity to cheat their customers and avoid official regulation than vendors in
fixed retail establishments. Off-street retailers often accuse street vendors of using
inaccurate scales to give short weight and of not posting prices so as to charge extra when
they suspect the purchaser doesn’t know how much he should be paying. Some street
vendors are also accused of selling illegal imports, fake or contaminated products,
disappearing or simply changing location before they can be positioned by angry clients
or the police.
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Street food vendors create major public health problems because their products may be
more exposed to the sun, to air pollution, and to contamination by passers-by, because
few have electricity and urbane cooking and refrigeration equipment, and because they
can leave or relocate more easily if an outbreak of food poisoning begins.
Street food vendors may be less professional, committed and responsible than off-street
vendors, refusing to give meaningful worth to the consumer and disappearing more easily
if there is a spate of problems and complaints. Street food vendors often include
considerable numbers of minors, contravening labor legislation, and revealing young
people to pollution, noise, road accidents, and threats of violence.
Street vendors contribute to the underground economy of undocumented cash dealings,
not only through their sales, but also through the bribes they are often required to pay to
police and municipal inspectors. A considerable underground economy undermines the
capacity of the state to fund its continuing activities and new capital investments through
taxation, and to effectively supervise and manage the economy. Underground economic
activity may support and encourage crime and tax evasion, gradually depressing the
fabric of civil society.
Also Street food vendors are often considered unsightly, they may generate a lot of noise
with their announcements, and they and their customers often leave garbage on the
streets. Street vendors are often viewed by urban elites as prominent elements of
“disorder”- one of numerous interacting factors which encourage blight, vandalism and
crime (Skogan 1989).
Street food vending is an actual or budding source of government tax revenues through
licensing fees, through sales and value-added taxes charged by vendors and later paid to
the government, and through any taxes levied on the consumption, incomes or property of
the street vendors and their dependents.
From beginning to end of their work, street vendors contribute to sustaining themselves
and their dependents. If they could not sell on the streets, some street food vendors would
be without a job, many street food vendors and their dependents would be penniless, and
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some might turn to crime, rioting or revolution. Thus, street vending serves as a social
safety-net — which would be much cheaper for government than establishing a wide-
ranging welfare system or considerably expanding the police, courts and prison system.
Street food vending is a laboratory for entrepreneurship, family business and social
interaction, linking vendors and clients into the broader economic and social system.
Many crucial entrepreneurial skills are learned and demonstrated out on the street.
It also provides entrepreneurial opportunities to people who cannot afford to buy or rent
fixed premises. It is a very important bottom rung in the ladder of upward economic
mobility, and some street vendors go on to build successful off-street businesses.
Street food vendors greatly expand the range of places and times where goods and
services can be provided, and sometimes they also offer goods and services which are not
available in off-street locations. As a result, they save effort for consumers, satisfy
demands which might otherwise go unsatisfied, and stimulate economic activity which
might otherwise not exist. By increasing competition they help to reduce consumer prices.
Because of its low capital requirements and its budding mobility, street food vending is a
very effective way to cater for seasonal, sporadic and special demands. There could never
be sufficient, prolonged demand to sustain comparable fixed, off-street businesses.
Similarly, street vending can test out new markets at low cost, offering goods or services
which have never previously been offered.
Involvement of Government
National, regional and urban governments, and the broad range of non-profits and
neighborhood organizations receiving funding and orientation from government, are
regularly confronted with the need to “do something about street vending.” Street food
vendors cannot be ignored because they are so visible, variable and concentrated in
congested areas. The problems and potentials of street vending are all too noticeable.
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The various levels of government have responsibilities more broadly; governments have
a responsibility to promote economic opportunity, encouraging entrepreneurship,
competition, and the widespread availability of goods and services.
There is little difference across the political spectrum on these general responsibilities of
government, but there are enormous differences on how they should be achieved. These
differences are most severe and most obvious at the bottom end of the economic
spectrum, in dealing with the smallest, most mobile and most transient enterprises. At this
micro-level, the governmental apparatus can seem big, clumsy and impersonal, or it can
acquire personal dimensions associated with clientelism, paternalism, corruption or
victimization.
The most noticeable government policy on street vending, mixing regulation with
promotion, is to move it to off-street locations, forming public or private markets. Most
city governments have attempted to do this, and many new off-street markets have been
established. Some have been very successful, but most have high abandonment rates and
many have failed altogether. Moving street vendors to the off-street locations is
comparatively easy, but moving their customers to those locations is much more difficult.
When customers fail to follow, the vendors have little choice but to return to the streets,
even in the face of increased harassment. Even when all existing vendors are moved and
stay in the off-street locations, their previous pitches are often grabbed by new vendors
who move in to make use of the profitable opportunities associated with a major flow of
pedestrians and vehicles. Successful off-street market foundations may do more to
increase total commercial activity than to enduringly reduce the problems associated with
street vending.
Government of Maharashtra has tried to pull selected street vendors into programs to
promote entrepreneurship through business education, low-interest credit and public
health training. Such support programs usually target vendors who sell primarily to
tourists and middle- to upper-income groups. In most cases, however, participation rates
are low, and both extension workers and street vendors have numerous complaints.
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Most business professors, bankers and public health workers have little knowledge of
street vending, and they offer unsuitable services and inappropriate advice.
Also the extension workers who do most of the direct connection with street vendors
have little appropriate training, and they often complain of low enrollments and high
abandonment rates. Street vendors are intensely conscious of cash-flow and work time,
and they do not want to give up peak business periods to receive what they perceive as
irrelevant instruction. They can be persuaded to attend with promises of licenses, stalls
and freedom from harassment, but they are usually doubtful that government will fulfill
its promises.
Official regulations on street food vending, commerce, health, traffic, employment and
taxation are typically long and complex, and most on and off-street businesses break at
least some of the rules. On average, on-street enterprises are smaller, more temporary and
more mobile than off-street enterprises, so it is likely that they obey less official
regulations. Capital and time can be saved by evading at least some of the rules, and
many regulations are little-known and hardly ever enforced. Many street vendors are
ready to limit the scale of their business, to occasionally lose merchandise to thefts and
confiscations, and to pay occasional fines and bribes, so as to avoid the costs of
“legalization.” Requirements such as getting an official license and sanitary permit,
giving receipts, charging sales taxes, and making business tax declarations are considered
particularly burdensome and difficult, requiring a lot of time, expense and contacts in the
bureaucracy.
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Appendix
Questionnaire for Street Food Vendors
Age: Gender Male Female
Date:
Location:
1. Who owns the cart you are using?
Myself another family member someone else
2. How many years have you been in the business already? ________
3. How far do you have to travel daily to get to work? _____________
4. How many hours a day do you spend working? How many days a week? ___________
5. Who and how many people are involved in the business?
Number of people Involved:_____________
No other people involved husband / wife children
Other family members others
6. Where do you sell your food?
Same place daily each day in a different place
Various places on same day
In front of School/Universities In front of business complexes Main road
Railway station Residential Areas Minor road other
7. Problems and coping strategies:
What are the major problems you are facing in your business? (debts, seasonality,
bribe money, etc)
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What are your solutions to deal with these problems? (loans, second job,
organization, etc.)
Are there competitions or rivalry between street vendors? (about space, particular
spots, etc)
In the past few years, has the business increased or reduced or has become stagnant.
Do you think upcoming supermarket chains are a threat to your business?
8. Are you aware of the political discussions about street vending? (street widening,
zoning, social security, licensing etc.)
II. Food for Sale
1. Type of food sold
fruits ___________________________ vegetables ____________________
Cooked food: Tiffin chat snacks sweets
Fruit Juices _____________________ Tea or coffee
2. Does it vary with the season what you sell?
Yes (specify) ___________________________________ No
3. If you vend cooked food, where is the food prepared? Who does the preparation?
4. How often do you buy fresh food?
Daily Every 2nd
day Weekly Other ________
5. Where do you get your drinking water from? _______________________
6. On an average, how many clients do you have a day? _______________
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7. What kind of people mainly buys their food from you?
Students Business people service men workers housewives all
8. Which is the busiest time for you in a day? ______________
9. Which is the most selling food product? _____________
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Questionnaire for Customers
Age: Gender Male Female
Date:
Location:
1. How often do you buy food from the street vendors?
once a day more than once a day 2 – 3 times a week once a week
less than once a week
2. What kind of food do you buy from street vendors? Please give order 1, 2, 3, etc.
Fruits Vegetables Cooked food Tiffin Chat
Fruit juices tea/ coffee sweets
3. Is there any kind of food you solely buy from street vendors? If yes, why?
Yes ______________________________________________ No
4. Is there any kind of food you would never buy from street vendors? If yes, why?
Yes ______________________________________________ No
5. Where do you buy from street food vendors?
near my own house/ residential area in front of school/college/work
it differs major road at railway station minor road other______
6. When do you purchase from street food vendors?
When passing by special trip it differs morning
Morning during the day evening no particular time of the day
7. Do you purchase from the same vendors on a regular basis?
Yes No sometimes
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8. What is the average amount of money do you spend on street food (daily/ weekly)? __
9. Why do you purchase from street food vendors?
Convenience variety taste low cost quality other______
10. a. Do you have any suggestion on how to improve street food vending?
Great variety Hygiene Quality Healthy Food
b. If those suggestions were practiced or introduced, would you purchase from street
food vendors more often? Yes No I don’t know
11. Will you go for European light food such as waffles, pancakes, crepes and
sandwiches, if made available on the street carts? If no, why?
Yes No _________________________________
12. What is your occupation?
Student Business person service person worker housewife
Other
13. Name two most favorite food items on street. ____________ ____________
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Contacts
NGOs
NASVI – National Alliance of Street Vendors of India
Tel: +91 612 -2570705, +91 612 -2577589
Sudama Bhawan, Boring Road,
Patna - 800 001
[email protected] , [email protected]
Mr. Arvind Singh
Coordinator
+91- 9910306625
[email protected] , [email protected]
Ms. Tapasya Kaul
+91- 9871799404
[email protected]
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Pictures
Picture 1: Street Food Vendors Selling Fruits in Restricted Zone.
Picture 2: Pav-Bhaji Vendor at M.G. Road
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Picture 3: Samosa and Khachori Vendor at Walkeshwar Marg
Picture 4: Tea Vendor and his Stall, which is in Poor Hygienic Condition.
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Picture 6: Sandwich Vendor been selling Sandwiches at one place for the last two
years.
Picture 7: Bhajiya and Vada Pav Vendor in front of Bombay High Court, Beside it,
there is a Sugarcane Juice vendor.
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Picture 8: Bhel-Puri Vendor at Colaba Causeway.
Picture 9: Sandwich Vendor employing more than One Person.
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Picture 10: Snack Vendor Making around 300-400 Rs. Per Day
Picture 11: Chat Vendor at Dr. Annie Besant Marg with their Moveable Food Cart
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Picture 12: Dosa Vendor Selling and living on the Pavement along with an employee
below 18 years.