• Encroached footpath used for frying ‘poories’
• City Corporation, Police inaction blamed

Mysuru: Repeated drives by the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and the City Police to clear encroachments from public spaces and footpaths — aimed at improving vehicular flow and ensuring safe walkways for pedestrians — have failed time and again.

This persistent failure has now resulted in a heart-wrenching tragedy, as a four-year-old boy lost his life after being splashed with hot oil from a vendor’s stove on an encroached footpath.

The tragic incident occurred on Oct. 2, Vijayadashami Day, at N.R. Mohalla and came to light only now. The victim, Anvish (4), was the son of Lakshman, a resident of Gandhinagar, Mysuru.

According to eyewitnesses, Lakshman was riding his bike with his son seated on the fuel tank near Maruthi Circle in N.R. Mohalla. He stopped in front of Bhagyalakshmi Tiffanys, a fast-food outlet located on St. Mary’s Road (Second Main Road) near Maruthi Circle, to buy some food for his home.

Footpath as cooking zone

The owners of the eatery had illegally occupied the footpath, converting it into a makeshift cooking area to fry poories and pakodas, blocking pedestrian movement and violating safety norms.

While Lakshman got off the two-wheeler to place his order, leaving little Anvish seated on the bike, a worker was frying poories in a vessel filled with boiling oil placed right on the footpath.

Moments later, tragedy struck — the bike’s side stand, which was loose, gave way, and the vehicle toppled over along with the child. The bike’s handlebar struck the poori-making vessel, causing the scalding oil to spill all over Anvish.

The child sustained severe burn injuries and was immediately rushed to the Burns Ward of K.R. Hospital. Despite doctors’ best efforts, he succumbed to his injuries on Oct. 4.

Following the incident, a case was registered at Narasimharaja Police Station under the supervision of Inspector Lakshmikanth K. Talawar. This shocking incident has once again highlighted the grim consequences of unchecked footpath encroachments and the administration’s repeated failure to enforce safety and civic discipline, even after multiple clearance drives.

The incident is deeply distressing. It underscores the urgent need for precautionary measures during street-side food preparation. At a minimum, vendors must ensure that customers are kept at a safe distance from gas cylinders and stoves. Officials from the Food Safety Department of the Mysuru City Corporation should regularly inspect footpath food stalls and actively engage with vendors to raise awareness and enforce safety protocols.

—Narayana V. Hegde, President, Mysuru Hotel Owners Credit Co-operative Society

Second burn incident at same food joint

Mysuru: Residents, pedestrians and passers-by have blamed the Police and MCC Health Section for the tragic incident.

“Even if the child’s father was at fault for not securing his bike’s side stand, the bigger responsibility lies with the MCC, which allowed cooking on the footpath. How can the authorities permit cooking with hot oil on a public walkway?” questioned locals.

Neighbouring shop owners highlighted a nexus between footpath encroachers, the Police, and the MCC. “The cooking is done on stoves connected to LPG cylinders that produce large flames. Even sparks are dangerous. This is a matter of public safety, and an innocent child has paid with his life. Months ago, a similar oil burn incident occurred at the same fast-food outlet — Bhagyalakshmi Tiffanys — where a pedestrian was injured, but the shop continued operating with impunity,” a shopkeeper said.

The MCC and Police conduct footpath clearance drives. However, days after each clearance, vendors often return.