Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST
Rehman, a streetside vendor, wears a pair of illuminated devil's horns as he waits for customers to buy his toys outside a fair in Mumbai.

India's streets are bustling with small vendors who make brisk business.

However, with the government's decision to allow FDI in the retail sector, street vendors believe that it would badly hit their livelihood.

Calling the FDI decision a national disaster, the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) has called on street vendor unions across the country to protest against the central government's decision.

Take a look at vendors selling almost everything on Indian streets...

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

Vendor Mohammed Ali waits for customers at his roadside stall selling antique gramophones and telephones, in Chennai.

Click NEXT to read more...

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A balloon seller takes a nap in front of the closed shops on the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr in the old quarters of Delhi.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A vendor stands at his stall selling roasted corn by the roadside in Jammu. 

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

Vendors hold bags of cotton candy for sale as they look for customers in New Delhi.

Click NEXT to read more...

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A woman sells vegetables at a roadside stall in front of a beauty salon in Mumbai.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A woman wearing a mask blows bubbles as she sells toys at along the roadside in Mumbai.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A vendor selling paintings of Hindu gods and goddesses waits for customers outside the Bhavnath temple during the Mahashivratri festival in Junagadh district, in Gujarat.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A vendor serving tea in earthen cups waits for customers at the venue of the annual Literature Festival in Jaipur.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A vendor blows a toy balloon for sale on a street at Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

Kashmiri vendors selling "Kangris" or traditional firepots walk on a street on a cold day in Srinagar.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

Women selling vegetables in front of a shop wait for customers at a market in Leh, 443 km east of Srinagar.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

Vendors selling fruits and clothes wait for customers at their stalls under a parked truck, on a roadside in Kolkata.

Click NEXT to read more...

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A streetside vendor uses cotton buds to clean the ears of another man in Mumbai.

Click NEXT to read more...

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

Nilesh, a streetside vendor, sits on the pavement next to his cow outside a temple in Mumbai.

Click NEXT to read more...

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A fruit vendor takes shelter under his cycle-stall during a monsoon shower in New Delhi.

Click NEXT to read more...
 

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A vendor sells garlands of marigold flowers at a wholesale flower market ahead of Janamashtmi in Kolkata

Click NEXT to read more...

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A vendor plays a flute as he tries to attract people to buy flutes in front of 'Hawa Mahal', also known as 'Palace of Winds' in Jaipur.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A man carries cane baskets along a roadside to sell them in a market in Nalchar village, about 76 km south of Agartala.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A vendor arranges umbrellas for sale on a roadside in Ahmedabad.

Click NEXT to read more...

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A vendor (L) fixes a set of artificial teeth into the mouth of a Kashmiri man at a roadside in Srinagar.

Click NEXT to read more...


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A candy seller walks past a couple sitting on a promenade in Mumbai.

Click NEXT to read more...

How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A vendor waits for customers for his basket of ducks at a wholesale market in Kolkata.

Click NEXT to read more....


How street vendors make a living in India

Last updated on: September 19, 2012 13:56 IST

A woman holds her child as she sells Indian national flags on the eve of India's Independence Day at a roadside in New Delhi.