Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials on Thursday demolished a dilapidated building in Sethuram Street in K R Market area.
Mayor B S Sathyanarayana told Express that the shopkeepers have been given space to set up shop on Bandi Mutt Road, behind the market complex. Demolition work started on Wednesday night and continued till Thursday morning.
The building was over 50 years old and of the 17 shops in it, BBMP had leased out 12. Ever since the demolition proposal was made public in 2013, there have been protests from vendors, with one even attempting to kill himself.
The civic body now plans to build a ramp from the road to the second floor of the market complex. The officials also removed a median on Sethuram Street in order to widen the street by up to 80 feet. This will decongest the street, the mayor said.
“At present, the model code of conduct is in effect. Later, we plan to lay a concrete road at a cost of `40 lakh.”
Diwakar, president of KR Market Vendors’ Association, said 12 vendors have been allotted an area of 8x6-ft each on Bandi Mutt Road. “Earlier, BBMP had told these vendors to move to the first floor of the market complex. But they refused saying they won’t see much business there,” he said.
Sathyanarayana, District Minister Ramalinga Reddy and BBMP Commissioner M Lakshminarayana are expected to visit the place on Monday.