Sir,

Footpath encroachment by food carts and street vendors is a known problem in Mysuru.

Though Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and the City Police attempt to clear the vendors once in a while, they are like the proverbial “whack-a-mole.”  They keep coming back. Another form of encroachment that seems to have largely escaped the attention of the MCC is residential street-side parking.

In many neighbourhoods, cars are routinely parked on footpaths outside houses. Some newly constructed homes do not even provide adequate parking space within their premises, with the implicit assumption that the public street can serve as their permanent garage!

When a scarce public asset like street space is priced at zero, it is inevitably abused.

As a consequence, pedestrians, including the elderly and children, are forced onto the carriageway, risking their safety.

A rough back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that tens of thousands of cars may be occupying public street space overnight in Mysuru.

MCC could take a cue from Bengaluru’s BBMP and consider introducing a modest residential street-parking permit. Even a small annual fee of Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 4,000 per vehicle could generate Rs. 10 crore or more annually for MCC, while also discouraging indiscriminate use of footpaths for parking.

Public streets are shared civic assets, not extensions of private property. If Mysuru truly aspires to remain a pedestrian-friendly city, reclaiming footpaths from permanent parking must become a priority.

– Harsha N. Hegde, Jayalakshmipuram, 7.3.2026

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