Street vendors make up nearly 2.5% of India’s urban population, accounting for approximately 10 million individuals and constituting around 11% of urban workers. Despite their significant presence, street vendors face a multitude of challenges, including lack of legal recognition, poor infrastructure, limited access to finance, occupational health and safety concerns, and gender-based discrimination. In addition to these challenges, street vendors also endure harsh weather conditions as they work long hours without adequate protection. They are exposed to high levels of vehicular pollution along roadsides and are particularly susceptible to extreme heat, exacerbated by the urban heat island effect. Climate change further exacerbates these risks, with rising average temperatures, extended heatwaves, unpredictable rainfall, and extreme precipitation events. These factors not only reduce operational hours and incomes for street vendors, but also have adverse effects on their health.

Bhuj, located in Gujarat’s Kutch district, is no stranger to extreme climatic conditions. The region falls within a hot and dry (or semi-arid) climatic zone, with significant daily temperature variations, reaching up to 20°C at times. During the long and dry summers, maximum temperatures often soar up to 48°C. In February 2023, when most parts of the country were slowly transitioning from winter to summer, the day temperature in Bhuj city was already over 40°C, the highest for February in at least 12 years. Further, heatwaves and droughts are common occurrences in Kutch district. Data from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has shown the increasing frequency of occurrence of heatwaves over the last 30 years; between 1994 and 2010, heatwaves in Bhuj occurred once every 4 years on average, but between 2010 and 2022, there were 9 heatwaves, or one every 1.3 years. While rainfall in Kutch is traditionally lower compared to other parts of the country, in the past 30 years, there has been an increase in the frequency of rainy days during the monsoon season in the district. These extreme climatic conditions have a profound impact on the lives and livelihoods of informal sector workers, particularly street vendors, who work approximately 11 hours per day with limited weather protection. Studies and surveys highlight the lack of resources among informal sector workers to effectively mitigate these climatic stresses in a sustainable manner.

In 2021 Bhuj formed an active Town Vending Committee (TVC) that comprises of all stakeholders relevant to the street vending profession (street vendor associations, resident welfare associations, municipal officials)—as mandated by the Street Vendors Act (SVA), 2014, becoming the second city after Ranchi to do so. However, clear byelaws and urban design guidelines for the development of vending zones were not established, falling short of the requirements of the Street Vendors Act (SVA) of 2014. To address this gap, the local Street Vendors’ Federation—which was established in 2017 with the objective to represent the interests of the street vendors of Bhuj at the city (and state) level—in partnership with Hunnarshala Foundation, developed a pilot model vending zone in Bhuj’s Bhanushali Nagar, which in addition to incorporating basic amenities, also integrated low-carbon materials, and climate-resilient technologies. The success of the pilot project led to the demand for similar zones in other parts of the city.

While the pilot project demonstrated success, greater collaboration with local and state governments is necessary to implement street vending zones that comply with the SVA and provide essential services to vendors. Given the increasing impacts of climate change, including rising heatwaves and monsoon rain in Bhuj, it is crucial to acknowledge the climate risks faced by street vendors and integrate climate-resilient strategies into urban planning and development.