BENGALURU: The Bengaluru Street Vendors’ Association, affiliated to CITU, on Saturday urged the State government and the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) to immediately halt the eviction of street vendors and fully implement the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
Addressing a protest at Freedom Park, Beedhi Badhi Vyaparigala Sangha alleged that the GBA was using its powers in an “authoritarian manner” by evicting vendors without following due process.
The association argued that street vendors were not responsible for pedestrian deaths in the city, blaming instead the encroachment of public spaces by malls, large residential complexes and unscientific traffic management. It said that instead of adopting planned road development measures to accommodate Bengaluru’s growth, authorities were targeting street vendors who contribute significantly to the city’s economy.
The association alleged that vendors were evicted without the mandatory one-month notice prescribed under the 2014 Act and without providing alternative vending spaces. It claimed that fruits, vegetables, food items, pushcarts, weighing machines, baskets, tarpaulins and other materials belonging to vendors were destroyed during the eviction drives, leaving many who had borrowed money to purchase them in severe financial distress.
The protesters demanded action against officials responsible for evictions carried out without notice, compensation for losses suffered by vendors and stringent action against those who allegedly destroyed their property.
Among other demands, the association sought a GPS-based survey of all street vendors, issuance of identity cards, development of designated vending zones in accessible locations and transparent, periodic elections to Town Vending Committees as mandated under the Street Vendors Act.
