Footpaths encroached by street vendors in Vidyaranyapuram 2nd Main

Sir,

The stretch of footpaths on either side of 2nd Main Road and the corners connecting the cross roads in Vidyaranyapuram (near SBI Branch) is encroached by fruit /vegetable and flower vendors, two-wheelers and some times cars too.

This is depriving pedestrians of their walking space and they are forced to walk on road risking their lives. Many buyers, particularly in evenings, randomly park their vehicles and create further nuisance for the traffic.

Recently, a car would have run over a vegetable vendor who encroach the corner space to sell vegetables at the intersection of 2nd Main and 2nd Cross to sell vegetables. By God’s grace he narrowly escaped unhurt.

It is unfortunate that the MCC and Traffic Police Department is turning a blind eye on this matter. Under the guise of giving importance to ‘right to livelihood’ of street vendors, the rights of the pedestrians are forgotten by the MCC and Traffic Police. One can guess that it is due to corruption in the system and definitely not out of any humane consideration towards street vendors.  

If the City Corporation has a common concern, this problem can be addressed to the satisfaction of both, that is, the public as well as footpath vendors.  Since 70 years, I  am seeing a huge dry land (Bhootale Pitch) lying vacant near terminal of 2nd Main Road, Vidyaranyapuram. Why don’t the MCC use this land  to come up with a vendors’ zone to relocate these street vendors pertaining to this ward with some  basic infrastructure? A search for similar vacant spaces to create vending zones in each wards (as is done by many tier-2 cities like Indore, Bhubaneswar) is the need of the hour.  

This will markedly brighten the city’s prospects of improving its position in the annual Swachh Survekshan ranking !

– A concerned citizen, Vidyaranyapuram 2nd Main Road, 12.11.2022

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