Hawkers are back in the busy Majestic subway just a month after the BBMP evicted them, following a high court order.
About one lakh people use the subway that connects the KSR Bengaluru railway station with BMTC and KSRTC bus stands as well as the Kempegowda metro station in the heart of the city.
But the subway had become an eyesore what with garbage littered all around and half of the space occupied by more than 100 hawkers selling daily essentials.
In some parts of the subway, walkers were left with just about three feet to use. At one point in time, the subway was even the preferred business zone of sex workers.
Things changed about a month ago when the BBMP cleaned up the subway and evicted the hawkers. But the situation is back to square one now, according to regular users of the subway.
“The subway remained free from hawkers only for a few days. The authorities kept vigil only for a few days, but the same hawkers are slowly returning now,” Ranjith Gowda, a regular commuter, told DH. “If the civic authorities do not wake up, the subway will turn into a stinking place.”
In effect, the authorities are getting a sense of déjà vu. Every time they evicted the hawkers, they returned after some time.
While previous eviction drives were carried out on the orders of the transport minister, the latest one came after a high court order.
To the surprise of commuters, things haven’t changed much.
BBMP officials were not available for comment as repeated phone calls went
unanswered.