Karnataka agrees to new Bengaluru street vendor survey but refuses to halt evictions

On Thursday, the Karnataka government agreed to conduct a fresh survey of street vendors and establish provisional Town Vending Committees, but refused to halt its ongoing eviction drive from main roads. The decision was reached during a meeting at the Greater Bengaluru Authority office between Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and representatives of the Beedhi Vyaparigala Janti Horata Samiti, a street vendors' collective.

The meeting took place a day after hundreds of street vendors staged a protest in Bengaluru against the eviction drive, which has been active since July 1.

According to the vendors' collective, Minister Gowda agreed to conduct a new survey to include all existing street vendors, including those who were omitted from the 2024 survey. The government also agreed to review the requirement of a Karnataka ration card for vendor inclusion. Additionally, provisional Town Vending Committees (TVCs) will be established to discuss vending locations and address grievances, with elections for full-fledged committees promised in the near future.

Despite these concessions, significant differences remained regarding the ongoing eviction drive. Vendor representatives demanded that those evicted since July 1 be allowed to resume their businesses at their original locations, or be relocated nearby after consultation with the TVCs. They argued that relocation should only be finalised after suitable alternative sites are identified.

However, Minister Gowda maintained that vending would not be permitted on main roads, citing pedestrian safety concerns. He stated that the drive would continue because more than 1,000 pedestrians had died in recent years, and the government was prioritising safer footpaths.

The vendors' organisations disputed this reasoning, contending that many pedestrian fatalities were linked to road crashes rather than street vending. They urged the government to identify locations where vending could coexist with pedestrian movement instead of carrying out blanket evictions.

While welcoming the fresh survey and the provisional TVCs, the Beedhi Vyaparigala Janti Horata Samiti expressed disappointment that the government did not agree to suspend the evictions or allow vending on major roads pending consultations.