Pedestrians welcome Shivajinagar footpath clearance despite attack
Even as a group of miscreants launched an attack on the officials, the Bengaluru City Central Corporation carried out the clearance drive, stressing that it
Even as a group of miscreants launched an attack on the officials, the Bengaluru City Central Corporation carried out the clearance drive, stressing that it is committed to improving pedestrian infrastructure in the city. A senior Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) official told The Hindu that 15 officials and staff from the tractor and silt wing were at the site when the incident unfolded. Five officials, including two women, were injured. However, the drive continued, and about 10 shops encroaching on the footpath were cleared. The official stressed that the shopkeepers had been informed well in advance that the encroachments would be cleared. The official alleged that the owners of the shops cleared by the civic body were paying between ₹250 and ₹500 every day, depending on the size of the shop, to some individuals.
However, action against such individuals is yet to be discussed at a higher level, the official said. Clear furniture Pedestrians welcomed the clearance drive in the area, stressing that it had become increasingly difficult to walk along the stretch near the Shivajinagar Bus Stand. Moksha Srinivas, a daily commuter who walks from M.G. Road Metro Station to Shivajinagar, said that many metro commuters from the northern parts of the city use the footpaths to reach Shivajinagar. “Along Central Street Road, the entire footpath is occupied by furniture shops, making it impossible to walk. GBA should clear them first,” she said, adding that the authorities should also ensure that the shops do not encroach on the footpath again after the drive is completed. Asgar, the proprietor of a furniture shop near Shivajinagar Bus Stand, said that officials had instructed them to remove the articles kept outside their shops as the drive was underway and that those would also be cleared.
Kiran, another pedestrian, said that the traffic police should crack down on illegal parking across Shivajinagar. “Haphazard parking is a major issue in this area because of the heavy footfall, often leading to road rage. I am also a victim of it,” he said. Responding to concerns over vendors returning or shopkeepers re-encroaching after the operation, Central City Corporation Commissioner G. Jagadeesha said that the authorities would continue monitoring the cleared stretches. No connection to street vendors The Street Vendors’ Joint Action Committee condemned the attack on the officials and said it was a deliberate attempt by some people to link it with street vendors. “The attack has no connection whatsoever with the street vendors’ movement. Constructing permanent structures on footpaths is illegal. Those who do so are not street vendors,” the committee said.
The BriefWire