BENGALURU: Amid a hue and cry by hawkers across five city corporations under Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), a footpath encroachment clearance operation was initiated as part of the ‘Safe Footpath Campaign’ on major arterial and sub-arterial roads. As per the GBA, more than 75km of road was covered on the first day of the operation.
While hawkers have been visiting the GBA head office in batches to convince the authorities, the encroachment clearance operation was conducted on major roads with the aim of providing safe, smooth and uninterrupted pedestrian movement.
The officials began to act swiftly only after standing instructions from Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who stated that around 300 pedestrian deaths in Bengaluru are due to unsafe footpaths.
Municipal officers/staff, with police security, using bulldozers, tractors and other vehicles, removed all types of encroachments on footpaths, including nameplates, stairs, OFC cables, sheets installed on shops, construction waste, pushcarts, permanent boxes, temporary sheds, unauthorised iron structures, etc., that obstruct the movement of the public.
The GBA has also appealed to shop owners, commercial establishments, private institutions and street vendors in all five city corporations to voluntarily clear encroachments on footpaths. If encroachments are not removed voluntarily, a clearance operation will be conducted as per rules, and legal action will be taken if necessary.
The minister, who is managing the drive at the macro level, said, “Every resident of Bengaluru has the right to safe and obstruction-free footpaths. I appeal to citizens, traders, commercial establishments and all stakeholders to join hands with the city administration in keeping our footpaths free from encroachments. This should not remain merely a government campaign; it must become a people’s movement driven by public participation.”
He reiterated that the government remains equally committed to protecting the livelihood of street vendors. “Except on approximately 20 per cent of priority arterial roads, vending can continue on other roads, provided pedestrian movement is not obstructed.”
Simultaneous drive
The campaign was simultaneously carried out across major roads in all five city corporations, including key stretches in Marathahalli, Varthur, ITPL Main Road, Outer Ring Road, Indiranagar, Jayanagar, Koramangala, HSR Layout, JP Nagar, Yelahanka, Hebbal, Banaswadi, Tumakuru Road, Mysuru Road, Rajajinagar, Govindarajanagar, Bull Temple Road and several other high-footfall locations. The operation covered around 75km on the first day of the initiative, said a senior GBA official.
However, the vendors were unhappy, and stated that they were evicted all of a sudden and not given any choice. Some hotel owners in Katriguppe argued over the logic behind destroying steps leading to the hotels, instead of giving hotel owners the option to alter them.
In Kalasipalya, vendors appealed to the GBA to stop the operation, and provide an alternative location before resuming the clearance drive. In Malleswaram, footpath hawkers said many of them are educated, and making a living on the footpath since there are no jobs.