Evicted hawkers left high and dry

“I am surviving on loans borrowed from various sources. Even Bakrid was not celebrated in my house for want of money,” the middle-aged man and father of four said. The plight of over 600 hawkers evicted by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike is no different. The Palike is bound by the Supreme Court direction that has banned hawking on the sidewalks.

Tired of waiting for a response from the Palike, members of street vendors associations across Bangalore staged a protest on Monday. They alleged that their pleas to the police and the BBMP had fallen on deaf ears.

However, the Mayor has said that a meeting would be held with the associations on December 15 on accommodating street vendors on pavements. The word was sent through Additional Commissioner (Welfare) V Ashok.

Street vendors have asked for restoration of their livelihood by providing them with a 1 x 1 sq metre space on the extreme sides of the pavement. They sought the Palike to reframe its regulation on street hawkers in accordance with the SC judgment and the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors 2009. They also demanded that the BBMP should not carry out evictions in violation of the process of law.