How It All Started

Origin -How the idea evolved

In 1995, armed with a High Court order, the State Government undertook a massive anti-encroachment drive. Poor vendors were the ‘soft target’ and the administration focused on their eviction without taking any steps to rehabilitate them. They suffered more because of their unorganized nature. This senseless step evinced interest in those who were, then, part of Adithi. It was decided to galvanize this unorganized section and offer them formidable clout to raise their voice against state’s indifference and hostile stance.

 Around the same time Ela Bhatt of SEWA was trying to galvanize the civil society institutions to include issues of unorganized street vendors. She shared her concern with Viji Srinivasan who followed this by an important consultation with various like minded individuals/institutions. The response was electrifying and people expressed solidarity with this unorganized section of the society. Organization of street vendors became a project of Adithi. 

Coincidentally, Adithi was undergoing restructuring and Viji found this an opportune time to get an organization dedicated to this cause. So what began like a project of Adithi was immediately registered as an independent institution –issues of the street vendors being one of the key agenda.

 The initial support

Both Adithi and SEWA were the rallying points as they espoused the issues and stood by it. In Nidan they found a young institution with young collective leadership committed to the cause. They nurtured and hand held systematically and offered all the capacity building opportunities for the young cadre. More than financial security they offered them tools and scientific methodologies to conduct their activities in a scientific manner.