Bengaluru, 9 July

Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Thursday said that the cooperation of street vendors was crucial to the ongoing footpath encroachment clearance drive, asserting that it was aimed at ensuring smooth and safe movement for citizens on public roads.

During a meeting with representatives of the Joint Action Committee of Street Vendors, he assured them that the government would always stand by the poor, amid the mass demolition during the ‘Safe Footpath’ campaign. 

“There will be no compromise on ensuring that footpaths remain free and accessible to pedestrians, and the cooperation of street vendors is crucial to the footpath encroachment clearance drive,” he said, according to a release.

Gowda said that street vending would not be permitted on the City’s major roads, which together cover about 1,500 km. “However, vendors will be allowed to carry out their business on the remaining 80–90 per cent of ward roads, and the civic body will extend full support for this”.

Stressing that the clearance drive was not limited to street vendors, Gowda said that encroachments by shops, petty shops, pushcarts, sheets, roofs or canopies, staircases, ramps, compound walls, advertisement boards, name boards, and temporary or permanent sheds on footpaths were also being removed. “In the coming days, the authorities will gradually remove all other obstructions from footpaths, including illegal parking and encroachments related to gardens.”

Gowda assured that action would be taken in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions and the provisions of the Street Vendors Act.

“The Supreme Court has directed that new identity cards be issued to street vendors, and I have instructed officials to distribute them,” he said.