Bengaluru Street Vendors Evicted Without Notice In Jayanagar And Vijayanagar
Street vendors in Jayanagar, Vijayanagar, and other areas of Bengaluru have been evicted without the mandatory 30-day notice during an ongoing footpath encroachment eviction drive. The Beedhi Vyaparigala Okkuta (Street Vendors' Union) raised these concerns in a memorandum submitted to Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Thursday, objecting to the selective targeting of economically vulnerable vendors while encroachments by private vehicle owners are ignored.
The union argued that street vendors are legitimate users of public spaces under the Street Vendors Act and cannot be treated as encroachers. It pointed out that nearly two lakh street vendors in Bengaluru provide affordable essentials like vegetables, fruits, flowers, and food to working- and middle-class residents, with many having been surveyed by civic authorities or received benefits under the PM-SVANidhi scheme.
According to the union, the eviction drive violated several provisions of the Street Vendors Act. Specifically, Section 3(3) of the Act prohibits eviction until a survey is completed and certificates of vending are issued. While a survey conducted between October 2024 and February 2025 identified around 34,000 vendors, thousands of others were left out despite more than 70,000 receiving PM-SVANidhi loans.
In Jayanagar, Vijayanagar, Marathahalli, and Malleswaram, vendors were reportedly removed without the 30-day notice prescribed under Section 18 of the Act. The union also accused civic authorities of seizing carts, tables, and other goods without issuing notices, inventories, or receipts, which violates Section 19 of the Act.
The issue of selective enforcement was also highlighted on the Vijayanagar service road, in front of the Vijayanagar Police Station. Advocate and activist Vinay Sreenivasa raised concerns that officials evicted vendors from the service road while refusing to clear old, dusty vehicles and private vehicles belonging to affluent residents occupying public space. A visit to the spot on a Thursday evening confirmed that private vehicles continued to line the footpath stretch in front of the police station.
The Street Vendors' Union has urged the government to honour its commitment to protecting vendors' rights, recalling assurances made by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi before the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections. The union's demands include reinstating evicted vendors at their original locations, returning confiscated goods, conducting a comprehensive survey, and reconstituting Town Vending Committees, whose terms expired in 2023.
