8 Street Vendor Representatives Elected Unopposed to Bhiwandi Civic Committee
Eight representatives of street vendors have been elected unopposed to the Street Vendors Committee of the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) in Bhiwandi. The election process was conducted under the guidance of Municipal Commissioner Anmol Sagar, with Shivraj Gaikwad, Chief Officer of Shahapur Nagar Panchayat, serving as the Election Decision Officer.
The election saw no contest across the eight seats reserved for various categories because only a single nomination was received for each position. Following the scrutiny of the nomination papers, Election Decision Officer Gaikwad formally declared all eight candidates elected unopposed.
The newly elected representatives include Karan Ghodke and Santoshkumar Gupta from the general category, Shakira Shaikh from the women’s reserved category, and Asha Mane from the Scheduled Caste women’s category. In addition, Gunja Waghe was elected from the Scheduled Tribe category, Adnan Momin from the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, Hamid Shaikh from the minority category, and Ramzan Ansari from the category reserved for persons with disabilities.
The 20-member Street Vendors Committee will be headed by the BNCMC Municipal Commissioner as its chairperson. Several officials will serve as ex-officio members, including the Deputy Commissioner of Police, the Assistant Commissioner of Police from the Traffic Department, the Assistant Director of the Town Planning Department, the Medical Health Officer, and a representative from the lead bank.
Along with the eight elected vendor representatives and the ex-officio officials, the civic administration will nominate six additional members to complete the 20-member panel. Milind Palsule, Head of the Social Welfare Department, stated that the municipal administration has received 10 applications for these six nominated positions.
A total of 21,135 street vendors are registered within the municipal limits of Bhiwandi. Following the announcement of the results, the newly elected representatives and their supporters celebrated the outcome.
The committee will serve as a formal platform for the registered vendors to raise issues regarding their livelihoods, rights, and interests before the civic administration. The municipal authorities are now expected to proceed with selecting the remaining six nominated members from the 10 applicants to bring the committee to its full strength.
