Footpath vendors 'heckle' Palike staff, stop eviction drive

Footpath vendors at the Jayanagar Shopping Complex didn’t let the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) staff evict them on Saturday during their unsuccessful drive that was punctuated by heated arguments.

The drama unfolded when Palike officials came forward to evict traders who had encroached on the footpath inside the commercial complex located at Jayanagar 4th Block. The staff almost seized the wares being sold on the footpath. The vendors were enraged at seeing the Palike officials and started arguing with them. They didn’t let them conduct the eviction drive. Things almost went out of control when some vendors reportedly abused the officials and asked them to go back.

Members of the BBMP’s Market Standing Committee said the vendors had been issued notices and were instructed a couple of weeks ago to remove all their belongings. “Sandals, clothes, bags and other wares are dumped on the footpath for eight feet inside the complex. We received complaints from the public as well as a few traders about how the footpaths are being misused,” said chairperson of the committee, Gayathri M. The committee has decided to give the traders a last chance. If the footpath is not cleared on Sunday, the eviction drive will go on.

Gayathri said she briefed Mayor B N Manjunath Reddy about the incident. “From now onwards, the seizing team will inspect all the markets regularly and carry on eviction drives on a daily basis. Support will be taken from the local police to avert any untoward incident,” she said.

The members also went to KR Market and expressed disappointment over its poor upkeep. They instructed the Palike’s junior officials not to let unauthorised traders into the market from Sunday onwards.