Hawkers Ruin Tourists’ Experience. What Can Be Done?
No tourist attraction or tourist city in India is free of hawkers. They can be found everywhere – from the Kovalam Beach in Kerala and Madurai Meenakshi Temple to the Taj Mahal and the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata. They sell everything from key chains and postcards to memory sticks and mobile phone chargers. Hawkers range from skinny 9-year-olds to haggard 70-year-olds. Their trick in pushing their wares and the way they jostle about in crowds to get your attention is amazing, to say the least. Forwards on a football field will be put to shame!
It’s true that the hawkers crowded on streets leading up to a temple, monument or any tourist spot can be quite revolting. Not only do most of them sell fake goods, some even ‘train’ young boys and girls to steal tourists’ belongings (read camera, purse and phone) while the older ones distracts the tourist(s).
But then again, don’t we all buy that li’l key chain from a tear-eyed girl, if only to help her get a square meal? Shooing away hawkers or ignoring them does not take away the problem. The government should take steps to clear streets and areas near tourist spots of hawkers as well as provide them with legitimate shop spaces to sell their wares. Why not have a welfare society or a common building for groups of hawkers to showcase their items than let them inundate the streets?
Also, tourists – both Indian and foreign – should be aware of their constant presence and be prepared to deal with them, if necessary. An idea about original and fake goods will help, too.
