Now Reading: Bengaluru footpaths slip back to encroachers a month after clearance drive
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Bengaluru footpaths slip back to encroachers a month after clearance drive
Bengaluru footpaths slip back to encroachers a month after clearance drive
Barely a month after the Greater Bengaluru Authority launched its 'Safe Footpaths' campaign, reclaimed pedestrian spaces across the city are being taken over again by vendors and shopfronts. The drive, backed by…
The Story in Brief
Barely a month after the Greater Bengaluru Authority launched its 'Safe Footpaths' campaign, reclaimed pedestrian spaces across the city are being taken over again by vendors and shopfronts. The drive, backed by Bengaluru development minister Krishna Byre Gowda, had cleared 850 km of roads of illegal extensions, food carts and street vendors.
A Times of India check at six locations, Gandhi Bazaar, ITPL Main Road, Basaveshwaranagar, Vidyaranyapura, RT Nagar and JC Nagar, found encroachments returning, from food carts to merchandise on pavements. A vendor in Chandra Layout told the paper he now pays more 'hafta' to continue business. Residents want surprise checks and action against officials who ignored the menace.
The Indian Opinion
The 'Safe Footpaths' campaign was a good start, but a one-time push without sustained monitoring was never going to fix Bengaluru's chronic encroachment problem. The narrative that clearance drives alone can make the city walkable ignores the reality of hawkers paying protection money and officials looking the other way. The real test is not another high-profile launch, but whether minister Byre Gowda will conduct surprise inspections and name the complicit officers. How many more months will pedestrians have to dodge traffic before accountability kicks in?.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
