Bengaluru, 2 July   

Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Thursday clarified that street vendors within the GBA limits will not be evicted, but are instead being relocated from arterial and sub-arterial roads to ward roads to ensure pedestrian safety.

Addressing a virtual conference with concerned officials reviewing the ongoing footpath encroachment clearance drive in the city, he directed officials to clear not only street vendors from footpaths, but abandoned vehicles and illegally parked vehicles to build smooth and organised footpaths for citizens.

He instructed officials to take action to clear all encroachments in a phased manner, the minister's office said in a statement.

Opposing the move, the street vendors have alleged that the drive was "selective" and came without providing any alternatives. They claimed that their livelihood is affected.

Claiming that the footpath encroachment clearance drive in the City has received strong public support, Gowda instructed officials to provide information on permitting street vendors to conduct business on ward roads, excluding major arterial and sub-arterial roads, in a manner that does not cause any inconvenience to the public.

"If we utilise the existing system effectively, we will gain public support, and even seemingly impossible tasks can be achieved. In this regard, all officials must work in coordination to build smooth, safe, and organized footpaths for the citizens of Bengaluru," he said. Noting that development works must begin immediately on the streets where footpath encroachments have been cleared, the Minister said, simultaneously, the clearance of footpath encroachments on other roads must continue.

He directed officials to construct high-quality footpaths to facilitate safe and smooth movement for pedestrians.

Once the footpath encroachment clearance work is completed across all five municipal corporations within the GBA limits, they must be comprehensively developed, he said, adding that "following this, an inspection of the developed footpaths should be conducted along with local residents to gather public feedback."

According to him, necessary steps must be taken to launch a drive to clear abandoned vehicles parked on the roadsides of the city, starting 10 July. In this regard, officials were asked to complete the required preparations in coordination with the municipal corporation and traffic police, formulate a systematic action plan, and execute the campaign effectively.

A plan should be chalked out to launch a campaign to clear bulk construction debris and wild vegetation in the city after 15 July, he added.

This campaign should be conducted jointly with the cooperation of the municipal corporation, Metro, and Railway departments. "All departments must work in coordination to make the city cleaner and more beautiful," he directed.

Highlighting that another major problem in the city is the construction of ramps over footpaths in front of houses and commercial buildings for vehicle access, Gowda said this is causing severe hindrance to pedestrian movement, and instructed officials to launch a special drive in the next phase to clear such ramps.

Meanwhile, sharing his thoughts with the citizens of Bengaluru through a video message regarding the pedestrian encroachment clearance drive, the Minister said that in light of the long-standing demand of the people of Bengaluru and the orders of the Supreme Court, the drive to clear encroachments on the footpaths of certain roads in Bengaluru has been initiated.

"Bengaluru must be an excellent city. The people living in the city must have access to essential infrastructure, and a safe footpath is one of them. While it is not possible to clear encroachments on all roads overnight, it is the duty of the government to carry out operations on high-traffic roads on a priority basis, which has also been a long-standing demand of the public," he said.

If people cannot walk on footpaths, they are forced to walk on the roads. In such situations, the risk of vehicle collisions or accidents increases, which can result in loss of life or serious injuries, Gowda said, pointing out that every year, hundreds of people are losing their lives in accidents while walking on the road because they are unable to use the footpaths.

Appealing to those who have constructed commercial buildings and encroached upon the footpath, to clear it voluntarily, he said, "It is not the government's intention to disrupt anyone's livelihood. However, the government cannot sit idle when people are losing their lives because they cannot use the footpaths."

"We are not clearing encroachments on all roads in the city, but only on about 20 percent of the major roads. Business is permitted on the remaining 80 per cent of the roads. The Supreme Court has explicitly stated that conducting business on major footpaths where a large number of people walk infringes upon the fundamental rights of the public. The government cannot violate that right either. Therefore, everyone must respect this verdict," he said.