'BBMP knows not street vendors'

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: An amount of Rs 25 crore has been earmarked for the development of street hawker zones in 2023-24. “So far, 67,385 street vendors have been identified under the Prime Minister Swanidhi scheme and 36,115 beneficiaries have already received financial assistance from banks,” BBMP Special Commissioner for Finance, Jayaram Raipura said.

Speaking about the allocation, Vinay Sreenivasa, an advocate and part of the Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike said, “Earlier also, money was allocated for the welfare of street vendors but has not been spent.”

He noted that the BBMP claims to have two vending zones in each ward but these have not been created yet. The municipal body has not provided any further details on how the Rs 25 crore will be utilised. Vinay called for the civic agency to meet with street vendors’ unions in order to find out their demands and needs.

“Originally, we wanted the BBMP to also spend on the basics of street vending. For example, the carts used are in really bad condition as the vendors are yet to recover from the economic challenges caused by Covid, so the BBMP can provide them free carts. The vendors also do not have any kind of shelter, drinking water or public toilet facilities. They also require street lights to function,” he said. “It is established that flyovers are not a solution for traffic congestion, yet hundreds of crore rupees is allotted for them,” he added.