<p>Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday directed officials to remove street vendors sitting close to weak compound walls across the city.</p>.<p>"The officials have already started identifying such areas. I have asked them to ensure there are no street vendors near such dangerous walls," he said.</p>.<p>Vendors, however, pushed back, saying the move would hurt their livelihood.</p>.<p>"We have been here for decades. If they ask us to move, it will hit our business adversely. If the conditions are not safe, the government should make it safe instead of moving us out," said Farooq Abdullah, a vendor near Bowring Hospital, where a compound wall collapse killed seven people on Wednesday.</p>.Bengaluru wall collapse: Mourning in Kerala town over death of two women.<p>Others echoed the concern.</p>.<p>"Many of us prefer to sit near such compound walls because footfall is high near hospitals, offices and such establishments. The government should work towards ensuring safety rather than ousting us," said Lakshmamma, a street vendor from Jayanagar.</p>.<p>Advocate and activist Vinay Sreenivasa said the government should consult stakeholders before taking such decisions. "This is not the solution. Even after five corporations came into effect, not a single Town Vending Committee has been set up. The government should strengthen the dangerous compound walls," he said.</p>.<p><strong>GBA to serve notices </strong></p>.<p>The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has begun identifying vulnerable compound walls across the city following the Bowring Institute wall collapse.</p>.<p>Officials said at least 100 big institutions may have weak compound walls.</p>.<p>"Officials from all five corporations are identifying such walls and notices will be issued directing institutions to strengthen these structures," GBA Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao told DH.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday directed officials to remove street vendors sitting close to weak compound walls across the city.</p>.<p>"The officials have already started identifying such areas. I have asked them to ensure there are no street vendors near such dangerous walls," he said.</p>.<p>Vendors, however, pushed back, saying the move would hurt their livelihood.</p>.<p>"We have been here for decades. If they ask us to move, it will hit our business adversely. If the conditions are not safe, the government should make it safe instead of moving us out," said Farooq Abdullah, a vendor near Bowring Hospital, where a compound wall collapse killed seven people on Wednesday.</p>.Bengaluru wall collapse: Mourning in Kerala town over death of two women.<p>Others echoed the concern.</p>.<p>"Many of us prefer to sit near such compound walls because footfall is high near hospitals, offices and such establishments. The government should work towards ensuring safety rather than ousting us," said Lakshmamma, a street vendor from Jayanagar.</p>.<p>Advocate and activist Vinay Sreenivasa said the government should consult stakeholders before taking such decisions. "This is not the solution. Even after five corporations came into effect, not a single Town Vending Committee has been set up. The government should strengthen the dangerous compound walls," he said.</p>.<p><strong>GBA to serve notices </strong></p>.<p>The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has begun identifying vulnerable compound walls across the city following the Bowring Institute wall collapse.</p>.<p>Officials said at least 100 big institutions may have weak compound walls.</p>.<p>"Officials from all five corporations are identifying such walls and notices will be issued directing institutions to strengthen these structures," GBA Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao told DH.</p>
