Bengaluru Footpath Encroachments Return : Clearance Drive for PR - R.Ashok

Bengaluru: Street vendors and alleged encroachments have reportedly begun reappearing on several footpaths across Bengaluru, weeks after the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) conducted a clearance drive.

Karnataka Leader of Opposition and BJP leader R. Ashoka criticized the Congress-led state government, alleging that the enforcement campaign was largely limited to publicity and photo opportunities.

In a post on X, Ashoka claimed that officials, ministers and bulldozers cleared encroachments while cameras were present, but that the same areas were quickly occupied again after the drive ended. He questioned the government over the recurrence of encroachments in Shivajinagar and other parts of the city.

Ashoka also questioned Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, and Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad over follow-up enforcement, asking why cleared footpaths were not being kept free from encroachments.

He argued that Bengaluru needs sustained enforcement rather than temporary clearance drives, saying that “bulldozers cannot be brought out for a day and forgotten the next.”

The BJP leader's remarks have intensified the political debate over Bengaluru's footpath management, street vending and enforcement of civic regulations.

The issue remains contentious, with authorities facing the challenge of balancing pedestrian access and public-space regulations with the livelihood concerns of street vendors.