Ahead of Bengaluru Safe Footpath drive, street vendors allege eviction threats

They have also urged the minister to meet with their representatives before commencing the campaign.As part of the ‘Safe Footpath’ drive set to begin on Wednesday, Gowda had stated last week that if encroachments continue beyond June 30, the corporation will remove them and impose heavy penalties. While welcoming the minister’s statement on proper use of footpaths, the Karnataka Pragathipara Beedi Vyaparigala Sangha, an AICCTU-affiliated union representing the street vendors of Bengaluru, stated, “Even before any official order is issued, the municipal corporations under the GBA are misusing the minister’s statement and threatening to evict street vendors. This has created anxiety among street vendors across the city.” In a statement issued on June 29, the union also noted that vendors were legitimate users of public spaces under the Street Vendors (Protection and Regulation of Livelihoods) Act, 2014, with many of them having been surveyed by authorities and having availed loans under the PM SVANidhi scheme while being members of registered trade unions. The Sangha highlighted that under the Street Vendors Act, a 30-day notice should be served before eviction. The union members said that the municipal corporations should have surveyed all street vendors, formed a town trading committee, and created vending zones where street vendors could trade. “But the authorities have not done these things. Instead, they are targeting us as squatters. According to Section 3(3) of the Street Vendors Act, no one can be evicted without a survey and registration of all the street vendors.”Story continues below this ad Advocate Vinay Sreenivasan, an office-bearer of the union, noted, “They have come to different areas (such as Hebbal and Vijayanagar) and said that they will start evictions from July 1”. The Sangha has called for wider footpaths to accommodate both vendors and pedestrians, while taking action against illegal parkers and encroachments by shop premises. It sought implementation of various aspects of the Street Vendor Act and formation of Town Vending Committees.