Bengaluru street vendors plan July 8 strike over ongoing footpath eviction drive

The ongoing 'Safe Footpath Campaign' to clear street encroachments across Bengaluru has sparked intense conflict and protests from street vendors, with local residents in Indiranagar welcoming the drive while vendors prepare for a city-wide strike. The civic drive has led to the eviction of hundreds of vendors and the seizure of their wares over the past week.

In Indiranagar, resident groups have long campaigned against the occupation of pedestrian spaces. Sneha Nandihal of 'I Change Indiranagar' welcomed the ongoing drive, stating that residents had been fighting footpath encroachments for several years because people had stopped walking on them. While she noted that civic bodies must create dedicated hawking zones, she argued that the idea of all street vendors being poor is misused.

However, the eviction drive has faced stiff resistance and protests from vendors in several areas, including Malleshwaram 8th Cross, Vijayanagar, Kengeri, R.R. Nagar, and N.R. Colony. Affected vendors reported losing their livelihoods and being forced onto narrow side streets. Raju K.M., who has sold accessories at Malleshwaram 8th Cross for 15 years, said he had to fight officers to prevent his wares from being seized and is now operating on small inner roads.

Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda defended the campaign, announcing that at least 1,500 km of arterial and subarterial roads—about 10 percent of the city's road network—will be declared as no-vending zones. He argued that vendors are simply being asked to relocate to inner roads.

Street vendor unions have strongly opposed the move, flagging multiple violations of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. S. Babu, a Vijayanagar vendor and president of the Karnataka Pragatipara Beedi Vyaparigala Sangha, stated that civic officials attempted to evict vendors in Vijayanagar for two days but retreated due to protests.

According to Mr. Babu, the law prohibits evictions until a comprehensive survey is completed and ID cards are issued. Unions claim the 2024 survey registered only 34,000 vendors, despite over 80,000 vendors receiving PM SVANidhi loans, suggesting a deliberate undercount.

Furthermore, the Street Vendors’ Joint Action Committee pointed out that only Town Vending Committees can declare no-vending zones. They noted that the terms of these committees expired in 2023, leaving no active committees to make such decisions.

In protest of the ongoing evictions, six vendor unions have formed a joint committee and announced a city-wide hawker strike on Wednesday, July 8. The striking vendors are demanding an immediate halt to the drive, the return of seized goods, and the full implementation of the 2014 Act.