Bengaluru clears 30 km of footpaths and plans relocation of street vendors
On Thursday, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced that street vendors removed during the ongoing 'Safe Footpath' clearance campaign in East Bengaluru, Central Bengaluru, and North Bengaluru will be relocated to designated vending zones. The announcement came on the second day of the citywide drive, which cleared over 30 kilometres of pedestrian paths of various encroachments.
According to the Chief Minister, the decision to clear the footpaths was based on a consensus reached with Opposition legislators when he served as the Deputy Chief Minister. Shivakumar emphasized that footpaths are critical for pedestrian safety, citing a Supreme Court ruling on the matter.
To support the displaced vendors, the state government plans to utilize ₹50 crore to ₹60 crore to distribute carts and vending machines. Shivakumar stated that about 37,000 vendors have applied for vendor carts, while approximately 60,000 individuals have applied for vending machines. Subsidies will also be extended to needy vendors.
Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda clarified that the exercise does not aim to evict street vendors. Instead, the campaign is designed to relocate them from busy arterial and sub-arterial roads to smaller ward roads where they can continue their businesses.
The drive on Thursday targeted various obstructions, including shops, pushcarts, temporary sheds, advertisement boards, ramps, and construction debris.
In East Bengaluru, the East City Corporation cleared 8.8 km of footpaths. In Central Bengaluru, the Central City Corporation removed encroachments along 8.55 km of footpaths covering 11 roads.
The North Bengaluru City Corporation cleared 12.7 km of footpaths. During the drive in the north, officials removed 25 shops, 124 pushcarts, 59 canopies, 130 unauthorised advertisement boards, and four temporary structures, alongside 18 tonnes of debris.
Looking ahead, Minister Gowda directed officials to launch a citywide drive from July 10 to remove abandoned vehicles parked on roadsides. This will be followed by another campaign starting after July 15 to clear construction debris and overgrown vegetation.
