Mysore/Mysuru: The City Traffic Police have evicted footpath vendors and other roadside vendors, who had occupied the stretch of footpaths around Five Light Circle (M.N. Srinivas Circle) on JLB Road and Manandavadi Road in the city.

This move of the City Police has indeed brought a relief to hundreds of vehicle riders and pedestrians alike, who were meeting with minor accidents at times, due to the overcrowded stretch of road, especially in the evening hours, turning into a congested lane.

What began with a group of a few vegetable vendors selling their goods on push carts, who had encroached upon the footpaths around Five Light Circle, mostly in front of the staff quarters of Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute (CSRTI), later expanded towards JLB Road and Manandavadi Road, severely inconveniencing the road users.

Over a period time, the vendors had allegedly turned audacious, restraining public access to the bus stop and the docking station of trin-trin bicycles. The bus bay had been turned into a stocking yard, explaining the blatant attitude of the vendors.

The nearby residents and office-goers were parking their vehicles on either side of the roads, affecting the smooth traffic flow at times.

Recently, waking up to the alarming situation, the Traffic Police cleared the vegetable vendors and other footpath vendors. To restrain them from returning to the place, barricades along with tapes have been erected. Meanwhile, some of the push carts remain to be cleared from the place.

Unheeding vendors near Crawford Hall

Ironically, the part of the road opposite Crawford Hall, the administrative office of University of Mysore, has turned into a make-shift fruit and vegetable stalls, but the authorities continue to remain blind eyed to the civic menace. If any concerned public question the illegality, the vendors abuse them, paying no heed to the trouble they are causing on the traffic front.