Patna: The Patna Municipal Corporation's plan to develop vending zones has got an impetus with road construction department giving a no-objection certificate for creating vending zones on the stretch of Kali Mandir (Bans Ghat) to Red Cross in the New Capital circle and near Begampur drain in Patna City circle.

PMC deputy municipal commissioner Vishal Anand said the corporation had sent a proposal of creating vending zones at 14 places in the city.

"The vending zones would be created at the two places soon. They will be equipped with basic facilities for street vendors. Apart from the two places, we have decided to create vending zones on the corporation's own land," said Vishal.

According to the PMC's plan, vendors will be allowed to carry out their business only in the vending zones. Only vendors with ID cards will be allowed to work there. According to sources, in the first phase, around 400 street vendors will be rehabilitated in the vending zones. PMC sources said the vending zones will have facilities such as drinking water, toilets, lights and pucca pavements.

Deputy municipal commissioner Vishal said the PMC would start issuing global positioning system (GPS) identity cards to the vendors soon.

"The company, which will make the GPS ID cards, is supposed to be selected soon and the work order to the company is likely to be issued within 15 days itself," added Vishal.

PMC sources said creation of the vending zones was a long-awaited plan of the city as the municipal corporation had identified land for creating vending zones long back but no further step was taken in this direction. With the creation of the vending zones, many city streets would be de-congested.

At present, pedestrians and commuters have a hard time commuting on Boring Road, Ashok Rajpath, Gandhi Maidan and other areas of Patna, as vendors have encroached upon the roads.

The PMC has time and again initiated anti-encroachment drives at the places but soon after the drive, the vendors return to the places to do business as usual.