Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar defends footpath drive, says ‘big mafia’ behind encroachments
Bengaluru Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is leading a city-wide footpath clearance drive to remove encroachments and improve pedestrian safety. While the government aims to reclaim public space, the initiative has faced criticism for displacing street vendors, whom the government plans to relocate to designated areas.
Why it matters
This highlights the ongoing tension between urban infrastructure development and the livelihoods of informal street vendors in rapidly growing Indian cities.
“Entire India and the world are looking at Bengaluru. We need to take care of our city,” Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said on Friday, defending the government’s footpath clearance drive that has triggered criticism over the eviction of hundreds of street vendors.
The Chief Minister conducted his first city-wide inspection since assuming office, reviewing the ongoing footpath encroachment clearance drive across the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) limits. He began at HAL before going to HSR Layout, Jayanagar and Madhavan Park.
However, Mr. Shivakumar did not inspect a few locations as planned, including Ecospace in Bellandur and Sampige Road in Malleshwaram, and only drove past some reclaimed stretches. At HSR Layout, he got down, walked a few metres and lifted a loose cobblestone from a footpath to point out its poor condition to officials.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in