Pedestrians welcome Shivajinagar footpath clearance despite attack
The Greater Bengaluru Authority conducted a footpath clearance drive in Shivajinagar to remove illegal encroachments by shopkeepers. Despite an attack on officials by miscreants, the drive successfully cleared several shops and was welcomed by local pedestrians.
Why it matters
It highlights the ongoing struggle between urban infrastructure development and illegal encroachment in rapidly growing Indian cities.
Even as a group of miscreants launched an attack on the officials, the Bengaluru City Central Corporation carried out the clearance drive, stressing that it is committed to improving pedestrian infrastructure in the city.
A senior Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) official told The Hindu that 15 officials and staff from the tractor and silt wing were at the site when the incident unfolded. Five officials, including two women, were injured.
However, the drive continued, and about 10 shops encroaching on the footpath were cleared. The official stressed that the shopkeepers had been informed well in advance that the encroachments would be cleared.
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