- Vendors preparing to resume business at alternative site near ORR junction, Vijayanagar Water Tank Road
- MCC officials caught supine, after the demolition of food stalls on Mar. 12
Mysore/Mysuru: Close to two weeks after 70 illegal food stalls under high-tension wire line near Vijayanagar water tank road were razed by Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) on Mar. 12, the same food vendors have zeroed in on an alternative place.
Strangely, this new-found site under the same high-tension wire line is located near the Outer-Ring Road (ORR) junction at Appu Circle, but the MCC remains in deep slumber.
Out of business for a fortnight, the vendors have been marking their spots by keeping stones, to resume their business. Prior to this, the vendors themselves cleared the vast area of weeds and shrubs, but the MCC officials choose to remain deaf and blind to all these developments happening in an overt manner.
The very area falls within the jurisdiction of MCC Zone-5 and in the case of earlier place too where the food stalls, including those of authorised and unauthorised food vendors, had grown up from merely two to three stalls, later reaching 35 and eventually adding up to total 70 stalls.
Now, the moot question is, how can MCC remain blatantly irresponsible, when the food vendors are preparing to start their business again. The ORR junction with service road on the either side, shall turn into an illegal parking lot, with the customers parking their vehicles. It may be a hurdle in smooth flow of traffic, inconveniencing not just the locals, but also the tourists and others too.
Given the location, that has high-tension wire line hanging overhead, the possibility of mishap turning into grave, if the wire snaps and falls on the people below, cannot be easily ignored.
Amid this, Bharat of Manchegowdana Koppal said, he had also opened a stall along with five others at the previous spot that was recently cleared in MCC operation. Now, those vendors who had been running the stall for several years, are involved in marking spots at the new location, depriving others of the opportunity, making it difficult to eke out a living. Raising concerns, if the food stalls mushroom near ORR junction, Vittal Narayan Ramesh, former President of SV Regency Apartment Association, Vijayanagar Second Stage in the city said, ironically, yet again the stalls are coming up under high-tension line.
“There is no park in the apartment vicinity. We were hopeful that, the area under high-tension wire line, may be developed into a park. In the wake of latest development, we are worried about what’s in store for the future. Earlier, the same spot had turned into a dump yard, with residents nearby throwing waste and setting the same on fire, taking a toll on the health of many,” said Ramesh.
Hitendra, Development Officer, MCC Zone-5, said, MCC is yet to identify a suitable and permanent location to facilitate resumption of business for food vendors. This initiative is a part of similar action being taken up across all the nine Zones of MCC. Most of the vendors, earlier having stalls under high-tension wire line didn’t possess ID card and authorised certificate. If the vendors are preparing to conduct roadside business under high-tension wire line, action will be initiated against them, he added.
As part of safety measure, the vendors conducting business under high-tension wire line were cleared. Measures are being taken to make alternative arrangements for them, when we came to know about the vendors plan to resume business at another location, albeit under the same high-tension wire line. Such activities won’t be entertained and the Zonal Commissioner will be instructed to look into the same. Action is being taken to identify dedicated places for roadside vendors. —Nitesh Patil, Regional Commissioner, Mysuru Division and Administrator, MCC
This post was published on March 25, 2026 6:41 pm