Footpath drive wipes out ‘decades-old’ shops near K.R. Market in Bengaluru

Hundreds of shopkeepers on the stretch opposite K.R. Market in the heart of the city watched, with tears, disbelief and anger, as their shops — and livelihoods — were razed on Wednesday. Others made futile attempts to show officials decades-old documents in a bid to save their establishments. The Bengaluru Central City Corporation demolished more than 200 makeshift shops as part of its footpath encroachment clearance drive.

The stretch, opposite the K.R. Market building and beyond the main market complex, was home to kirana stores, fish shops, masala outlets and several other businesses. As heavy machinery moved in to dismantle the structures, shopkeepers scrambled to salvage whatever they could at the last minute.

A man in his 60s, who ran a small masala shop, broke down as his establishment was demolished before his eyes. Despite desperate attempts to save his belongings, he was unable to recover much.

The operation was among the largest carried out under the drive, with Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) data showing that nearly 220 shops were cleared. The demolition was carried out amid tight security, with a large contingent of police personnel deployed alongside 60 engineers, 60 BSWML staff members and 20 health officers.

Shopkeepers’ misery

Syed Babu, 67, a resident of Lakkasandra, said he had been running a kirana store for the last 43 years and had been paying rent until 2002.

“I have receipts showing that I paid rent until 2002. After that, the civic body stopped collecting rent even though we were ready to pay. We all have electricity connections and old documents, yet our shops are being razed now,” he said, questioning how the shop had been considered legal until 2002. Mr. Babu said groceries worth nearly ₹4 lakh in his shop were destroyed.

Yaseen Khan, 38, said the stretch was not used by vehicles and that pedestrians had ample access to buy groceries and other materials. He added that the shops on one side of the stretch were old, while those on the other side had been built in the last three to four years by “influential” persons. “If they had cleared those shops, the stretch would have had more free space. Instead, they are clearing all of us despite us being here for so long without causing a single problem,” he said.

Court order

A senior Central Corporation engineer overseeing the demolition told The Hindu that the clearance was carried out in compliance with a court order.

Referring to a July 17 order in a writ petition filed by six individuals seeking directions restraining authorities from demolishing or interfering with their shop premises, the official said, “The court permitted the petitioners an outer limit of 15 days to hand over the premises. If they failed to do so within the stipulated period, we were given the liberty to dismantle the structures without any further notice.”

He said the other shops demolished on Wednesday were located along the same stretch and that reclaiming the footpath was necessary in line with Supreme Court directions.

When asked whether the shops had been issued notices before the demolition, the officer said there was a 15-day gap following the court order and that officials had orally informed all shopkeepers for two days before carrying out the drive.

‘Not a vending zone’

G. Jagadeesh, Commissioner of the Central Corporation, said the civic body had not issued ID cards to any of the vendors on the stretch nor had the stretch been designated as a vending zone. Therefore, there was no requirement to issue notices.

However, vendors along the stretch maintained that, unlike those operating on other roads across the city, they had been running their businesses from the same location for more than four decades.

Mr. Jagadeesh said the corporation had reclaimed about 200 km of footpaths within its jurisdiction and that another 50 km remained to be cleared.