Bengaluru's 'Safe Footpath Campaign' Evicts Hundreds of Street Vendors

Raju K.M. and other street vendors in Bengaluru have been evicted during the city's "Safe Footpath Campaign," sparking protests and resistance from vendors who argue that they are being unfairly targeted under the 2014 Street Vendors Act. The Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda announced plans to declare 1,500 km of roads as no-vending zones, but street vendor unions claim this is a violation of the law and point out that the recent survey only registered 34,000 vendors despite over 80,000 taking loans under the PM SVANidhi scheme. Street vendors are demanding an immediate halt to the eviction drive, return of seized goods, and full implementation of the 2014 Act.