Street hawkers’ body urges Centre to issue national guidelines to protect vendors from heatwaves

The National Hawkers Federation (NHF) on Friday (April 11, 2025) urged the Centre to issue national-level guidelines to protect street vendors from the rising threat of heatwaves.

The increasing temperatures are putting the lives and livelihoods of over two crore vendors at risk, it said.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, the federation said the frequency and intensity of heatwaves have increased alarmingly, with 2023 witnessing around 30 days of extreme heat conditions, and demanded that heatwaves be included in notified disasters under the Disaster Management Act.

The federation said vendors are facing a “double impact” in the form of health risks due to prolonged exposure and loss of income due to reduced customer footfall.

Vendor protection measures

“Vendors report heat exhaustion, dehydration, dizziness and even heat strokes. Heatwaves also impact perishable goods, increasing financial losses. Vendors selling fresh produce, dairy and other heat-sensitive items suffer particularly heavy economic setbacks,” the federation said.

It said despite the growing risks, street vendors often lack basic infrastructure like shade, drinking water and first-aid support.

The NHF demanded that the government integrate vendor protection measures into the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) guidelines and ensure state and urban bodies implement them.

The hawkers’ body proposed several measures including advance planning by local authorities, installation of public hydration stations, provision of umbrellas and temporary shade structures and distribution of oral rehydration salts, cooling towels and caps.

It also recommended the creation of shaded rest areas near markets and the formation of vendor-led response teams trained to handle heat stress emergencies.

The letter called for street vending zones to be developed with green cover and heat-resistant materials as part of long-term urban planning.

“With rising temperatures and increasing heatwave days, it is imperative that street vendors who form a critical part of India’s informal economy are given adequate protection. The central government must provide clear guidelines to states and urban local bodies on ensuring street vendors’ safety during heatwaves. These guidelines should be officially integrated into the NDMA framework, making them a part of broader climate resilience and urban planning measures,” NHF general secretary Saktiman Ghosh said in the letter.

Mecanzy Dabre, deputy general secretary of the federation, said the government must provide adequate funding to heat action plans, notify heatwaves as a national disaster and provide necessary support to street vendors.

Currently, the notified list of disasters eligible for National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) assistance includes cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, fires, floods, tsunamis, hailstorms, landslides, avalanches, cloud bursts, pest attacks, frost and cold waves.

However, state governments can use up to 10 per cent of their annual SDRF allocation, subject to certain conditions, to provide immediate relief for natural disasters they consider significant within the local context, even if they are not included in the centrally notified list.

States have previously requested the Centre to add incidents such as elephant attacks, lightning, heatwaves, river and coastal erosion to the eligible list for SDRF and NDRF funding.

Demand of inclusion of heatwaves under Disaster Management Act

Responding to a question, Union Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh recently told the Lok Sabha that the 15th Finance Commission had examined states’ requests to expand the list of notified disasters to include heatwaves but did not find merit in it.

According to government data, extreme heat and sunstroke claimed 10,635 lives in India over the 10-year period starting from 2013.

During an exceptionally harsh summer last year, India recorded around 42,000 suspected heat stroke cases and 143 heat-related deaths.

Public health experts say the official heat-related death toll is likely undercounted, as 20 to 30 per cent of heat stroke cases typically result in fatalities.

Earlier this month, the weather department said that the country is likely to experience above-normal temperatures from April to June, with more heatwave days in central and eastern India and the northwestern plains.

Some states, including eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, are expected to have 10 to 11 heatwave days during this period.

The year 2024 was also the warmest recorded both in India and globally.

NHF is active across all 29 states and claims to represent over 1,500 street vendor unions.