GUWAHATI, March 26 - The Guwahati Press Club (GPC) has decided to issue temporary identity cards to all the newspaper hawkers based in Guwahati. The decision has been taken by the GPC in view of the problem faced by the hawkers while distributing daily newspapers during the lockdown, which has severely affected the distribution chain.
The decision to issue temporary identity cards has been informed to the officer-bearers of the All Guwahati Newspaper Hawkers� Association in an informal meeting organised under the aegis of the Assam Tribune Employees� Union.
Police and civil administration, while welcoming the initiative taken by the GPC for ensuring smooth distribution of newspapers, ensured cooperation from their ends, a statement by GPC president Manoj Kumar Nath and general secretary Sanjoy Ray said.
The GPC office-bearers further informed that the cards would only be used for newspaper distribution purposes and would be valid only for the lockdown period.
The hawkers� association, meanwhile, has assured that the hawkers would ensure that the readers get their copies in Guwahati from tomorrow.
�Under the prevailing circumstances (lockdown), it was virtually impossible for the hawkers community to distribute newspapers since we do not have any identity proofs. Now that the GPC has decided to issue us identity cards, we should have no problem in distributing the newspapers. We appreciate the move taken by the GPC,� said the general secretary of the Hawkers� Association.
