A day after a massive protest by street vendors in Bengaluru, representatives of the Joint Action Committee of Street Vendors on Thursday, July 9 met Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and welcomed the government’s decision to conduct a fresh survey of street vendors and constitute provisional Town Vending Committees (TVCs).
However, the vendors’ collective said it was disappointed with the government’s decision to continue the eviction drive and its stand that street vending would not be permitted on main roads or along roadsides.
The meeting was held at the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) office following Wednesday’s protest. Representatives placed before the Minister the demands raised during the demonstration and said they were willing to work with the government to resolve issues arising from the ongoing eviction drives and the Safe Footpath Campaign.
The vendors’ representatives highlighted that the Supreme Court has recognised street vending as a fundamental right and said the rights of vendors and pedestrians must be balanced. They also submitted copies of Supreme Court judgements related to street vending to the Minister.
“We are not against pedestrians. We want to work with the government to balance the interests of both vendors and pedestrians,” the Committee said in a statement.
The representatives also alleged that while the government has maintained that there is no eviction but only relocation, officials on the ground have been carrying out evictions. They cited instances from areas including Malleswaram, Whitefield, NIMHANS back gate, Chandra Layout, and Indiranagar, where vendors were allegedly removed without being provided alternate spaces.
As part of their demands, the vendors sought full implementation of the Street Vendors Act, a comprehensive survey covering vendors left out of the 2024 survey, and issuance of identity cards and vending certificates. They also demanded that ration cards should not be made mandatory for inclusion in the survey and that vendors should be allowed to submit any Karnataka government-recognised document such as Aadhaar, voter ID, ration card or driving licence.
According to the Committee, the minister agreed to conduct a fresh survey covering existing vendors and said the requirement of a Karnataka ration card for inclusion would be reviewed. He also agreed to set up provisional TVCs to discuss vending zones and address vendors’ concerns. The Minister reportedly assured them that elections would be conducted to establish full-fledged TVCs.
The vendors also demanded that those evicted since July 1 be allowed to resume business at their previous locations, or that temporary spaces be provided along the same roads if footpath obstruction was an issue. They said that the final decision on relocation should be taken by TVCs.
Responding to this demand, the Minister said vending on main roads would not be permitted. The vendors said they were not insisting on pavements on main roads but suggested that space similar to parking areas along the edge of roads could be provided.
The Minister suggested that vendors could be relocated to side roads. However, the vendors said relocation should happen only after identifying suitable vending spaces and discussing them through TVCs. They also raised concerns that vendors moving to side roads could face opposition from traffic police, local shops, and residents.
On the continuation of eviction drives, the Minister reportedly cited pedestrian deaths and injuries as a reason for the action. The vendors argued that traffic police data showed many pedestrian deaths were caused by factors such as drunk driving and road crossing, and were not linked to street vending.
The Committee also asked the government to share FIRs where street vendors were allegedly responsible for pedestrian deaths or injuries, and said they would address any such locations.
While welcoming the decisions on the fresh survey, provisional TVCs and formation of full-fledged TVCs, the Committee said it remained disappointed with the government’s position on vending along main roads.
The Committee said it would meet on Friday to decide its future course of action.