Mysore/Mysuru: Roadside vendors conducting business by parking their pushcarts and goods autos on the road are causing severe inconvenience to the public, especially motorists on the stretch of road from Surya Bakery Circle till Vishwamanava Kuvempu Circle in Hebbal here.

According to local residents, recently a man was killed and two others sustained serious injuries near Surya Bakery in Hebbal, in an accident involving a Maruti Van and two motorbikes, all due to the encroachment of road by goods autos and pushcart vendors.

Though such ‘on the road’ business is going on since a few months, which is hampering smooth flow of traffic, the Police seem to have turned a blind eye towards it, residents said.

The stretch of road from Surya Bakery Circle till Vishwamanava Kuvempu Circle has turned into a market, where pushcarts and a few goods autos are parked on the road, with vendors selling fruits and vegetables resulting in traffic jams. Also, customers park their vehicles near the pushcarts adding to traffic jam, reducing the road to a narrow stretch proving a hurdle to smooth flow of traffic.

Apart from traffic jams, frequent accidents are reported on this stretch of the road and three to four fatal accidents have already occurred and many have been left injured.

‘It was footpath encroachments earlier, now roads are being encroached’

Former Corporator K.V. Sridhar said “Earlier, we used to urge MCC officials to clear encroachments on footpaths, now we have to urge to clear encroachments on road. No one is bothered about the problems from Surya Bakery Circle Junction till Vishwamanava Kuvempu Circle. There are over 300 pushcarts and goods autos conducting business on this stretch of the road since two years. Though representations were made to the MCC and the Police, no action has been taken till date.”

Pointing out that this stretch was widened from 50 feet to 70 feet for smooth flow of traffic when he was a Corporator; Sridhar regretted that the widening had gone for a waste.

He said that the vendors occupy a major portion of the road leaving just 20 feet for vehicular movement resulting in frequent accidents sometimes fatal ones. “No Parking boards were installed in Surya Bakery Circle which have vanished now. As vehicles are parked on all four sides, heavy movement of traffic is witnessed on this stretch of the road,” he said.

Sridhar has urged the authorities concerned to restrict vehicular traffic on this stretch or convert the entire stretch into a market so that innocent lives can be saved.