Street vendors across Bengaluru have called for a complete shutdown of vending activities and a mass protest on Wednesday.
Street vendors noted that they were legitimate users of public spaces (File photo for representational use).Street vendors across Bengaluru have called for a complete shutdown of vending activities and a mass protest on Wednesday. The joint action is a response to the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s (GBA) ongoing ‘Safe Footpath Campaign’, which vendors allege has led to illegal evictions, harassment, and the destruction of livelihoods. Six prominent vendor bodies jointly issued the strike call: Karnataka Progressive Street Vendors Union, Karunadu Street Vendors’ Organisations Federation, Nava Karnataka State Street Vendors’ Union, Street Vendors’ Union, Roadside Vendors Federation, Karnataka Women Street Vendors Association Federation.The GBA’s 10-day ‘Safe Footpath Campaign’, scheduled from July 1 to July 10, aims to clear encroachments along roughly 2,000 km of major arterial and sub-arterial roads across the city. As of Monday, the GBA claimed to have cleared 320 km of footpaths. M M Ravichandra, general secretary of the Karunadu Street Vendors’ Organisations Federation, criticised the abrupt nature of the drive. “This decision has put at least two lakh street vendors and over 10 lakh dependents in deep trouble. Who will compensate these vendors for their severe losses? While cars are parked illegally on footpaths, the government looks the other way. Now they say we can do business on small cross streets, but won’t that cause the same issues there?” he questioned. In a joint statement, the unions noted that the enforcement has involved evicting hawkers and seizing or destroying pushcarts, tables, weighing scales, and inventory. They alleged that these actions are being carried out without advance notice or proper inventory receipts for confiscated items. Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who was in Basava Kalyan in the Bidar district on Monday, announced that street vendors operating on major roads and footpaths would be relocated to nearby smaller roads when feasible. He said, “Registered vendors will be provided with pushcarts and designated vending spaces. We will ensure their livelihoods are not affected.” Allegations of legal and operational violations While the civic body defended its campaign by citing Supreme Court orders to restore safe pedestrian pathways, vendor unions contend that the enforcement directly violates the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. Specifically, they point to violations regarding mandatory notice periods, the provision of alternative vending zones, and due process for seizures.Story continues below this ad The unions also revealed that many vendors who secured loans under the central government’s PM-SVANIDHI scheme were excluded from civic surveys conducted between October 2024 and February 2025. This omission has left them without identity cards and stripped them of legal protection. Main demands of unions The joint committee of unions has placed a set of immediate demands before the state government. They include an immediate stop to evictions and the restoration of displaced vendors to their original spots until the Town Vending Committee finalises alternative locations, and the immediate return of all confiscated carts and goods, along with compensation for financial losses incurred during the drive. Other demands include a fresh, comprehensive survey of all street vendors to ensure that everyone eligible receives a valid identity card, and a crackdown on structural violations rather than hawkers, including illegally parked vehicles, private gardens, commercial ramps, transformers, and extended shop displays.
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