Bengaluru’s street vendors: Balancing livelihood and urban chaos

Bengaluru’s street vendors, while contributing to the urban economy and providing affordable shopping options, often spark conflicts over space with residents and businesses. The Hindu looks at the challenges these sellers face and possible solutions to improve the overall situation 

John Peter sells helium and foil balloons ranging from ₹10 to ₹600 every day. He begins his day in Jayanagar, and as the day progresses, he travels to different parts of the city. “I go to busy marketplaces like K.R. Market, Chickpet, Shivajinagar, and Majestic. I also linger around schools. Mostly, I travel by bus, but if it’s late or the load is heavy, I take an auto. I typically earn ₹500-1,000 per day. I stay out until about 9 p.m. and then head home. Buses are harder to get after 9,” he said.

From bustling markets to quiet residential areas, street vendors/hawkers who sell everything from stationery to clothing to imitation jewellery, food items, fruits and vegetables are found everywhere in Bengaluru. According to the 2017 survey of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), there were 25,000 street vendors in Bengaluru. The number might have crossed a lakh in the post-pandemic era, according to the vendors themselves.

Love-hate relationship

The city’s residents and permanent business owners all have their own love-hate relationships with these street vendors, primarily due to the unorganised nature of this economy. People prefer to shop for certain items from these vendors due to easy availability and affordability but find it problematic when their walking or parking space is taken away by the same vendors.

“When I was in college, I used to love going to Sampige Road (in Malleswaram) for my shopping as I would get things for cheaper rates from street vendors. But now, when I take a walk on the same road during weekends or festivals, it is difficult to keep one step in front of the other as the vendors have taken up all the space on the footpath with their shops. The prices are not cheap like before either,” said Ankitha Sharma, a copywriter from Bengaluru.

Threat of eviction

On the other hand, a street vendor can make around ₹10,000 to ₹1 lakh a month depending on what they are selling and the location they are selling in, according to vendors themselves, but most of them work without basic facilities like shelter, godowns, washrooms and drinking water. They also say they face a plethora of problems daily, including eviction and corruption, which also sometimes lead to loss of business. 

“We are also constantly under the threat of eviction from both the police and the BBMP. In central areas like Market, Majestic and Malleswaram, bribes have to be paid to multiple agencies and local goondas,” claimed S. Babu, president of Bengaluru Urban District Street Vendors’ Federation.

In Shivajinagar, which is known for its bustling market areas like Russell Market and Commercial Street, most street vendors say that they are being evicted constantly. Saleem Ahmed and Syed Ahmed, street vendors who sell cosmetics and stationery, said, “Recently, the police have been chasing us away every day. We come back after they leave and continue with our work.”

Demand for vending zones

The demands of street vendors have been the same for years now. They want proper demarcation of vending slots in designated vending zones, regular meetings of Town Vending Committees and to be free from harassment from officials. “We need a structured space for vending and permanent systems in place according to the Street Vendors Act 2014. The illegal eviction of vendors should be discussed in TVC meetings. We want markets to be classified as natural markets, heritage markets, etc, for better opportunities,” Babu said. 

During the recent festive season, long-time traders from areas such as Gandhi Bazaar, Commercial Street, and Chickpet complained that their business had taken a great hit due to the presence of street vendors. On the other side, some business owners in Church Street said their businesses had taken a hit after the BBMP evicted over 70 street vendors from there on October 5 to “reclaim the footpaths for the public.”

“When we first started (the business), the rent was ₹700, but now it’s ₹75,000. Our sales used to be ₹7,000, but now they exceed lakhs. The business has become tougher over the years as many street vendors and hawkers come here”, says Nagalakshmi Hanumantha M.P., who has been running her store of festival supplies for 39 years in Gandhi Bazaar in the southern part of the city. “They (street vendors) don’t have to pay rent or GST. So they can sell at lower prices. If we buy a product for ₹1.5 and sell it for ₹2.5 due to overhead costs, they sell it directly for ₹1.5, and it is unfair,” she added.

Jayaram, the owner of Navdurga Gift Centre, Malleswaram, hails from Rajasthan and has been in the business for twenty years now. “The street vendors on the footpath set up shops right in front of the path that leads to my shop. While regular customers still make it to the shop, I am not able to get new customers,” he lamented. He added that during festivals, the popular 8th cross road is filled with street vendors due to which the entrance to the gully that leads to his shop gets blocked.

Contributors to economy

Similar concerns were shared by traders’ associations across many areas of Bengaluru. However, some shoppers consider the hawkers to be an essential part of the market vibe. A lot of them also believe that designated vending zones or giving street vendors designated spots on the footpath could help free up the footpaths for walkers.

“The perspectives of all the stakeholders should change from looking at street vendors as encroachers to looking at them as contributors to the urban economy,” said Vinay Sreenivasa, member of Karnataka Pragathipara Beedi Vyaparigala Sanghatane.

He added, “This is their means to earn a livelihood as they cannot do other jobs like construction, and they have no education to find jobs in the organised sector. They also provide many services and serve as eyes on the road. In Kaveri Nagar, police had said that criminal activities had increased in the area after eviction of street vendors.”

BBMP begins survey 

According to the Street Vendors Act, a survey of the vendors should be carried out every five years. But after 2017, the BBMP did not conduct a survey in 2022. Now, after a two-year delay, the survey began in October.

“The identification of vendors and probable vending spots is going on the zonal level. We will be identifying three zones – no vending zone, restricted vending zone and complete vending zone. We will be identifying vending spots as per the policy. With Aadhar Card or ration card as ID proof, vendors can register themselves,” said Suralkar Vikas Kishor, Special Commissioner, Health, BBMP.

The street vendors have their concerns about the survey. They say out of the 25,000 who were surveyed last time, only 13,000 received their vending certificates due to reasons like lack of BPL cards and other red tape. “The survey which is going on right now is only considering vendors in main roads and markets. But what about those who are set up in residential areas or gullies? What about pushcart vendors and migrant vendors?” asked Babu.

Suralkar clarified that if some who are on inner roads are not surveyed, they can intimate zonal level officials and get added to the lists. He also said that with proper ID proof, even migrant vendors can try to get their certificates.

Onus on civic body

Street vendors and activists also argued that according to according to the law, without the demarcation of vending zones, street vendors cannot be evicted, but the BBMP and police have been doing that for a long time.

When asked about this, Suralkar said, “There is a difference in perception of policy. Some things are evident in it, and it says that there can be no vending on certain stretches. For instance, if the width of the footpath is less than the minimum space that should be provided to a street vendor, then it is not suitable for vending. If those criteria are not being met, then we can remove vendors from such areas.”

But most people agree that the onus is on the civic body to create vending zones that help all the stakeholders to exist in harmony. “The Street Vendors Act protects the rights of vendors and also regulates vending. After the survey, the BBMP and BDA should work on a Street Vending Plan. Law and Policy have moved in this regard, but the mindsets of people have not,” Vinay remarked.

(With inputs from Malvika A. Mahalaxmi, Malvika Misra, Humeera Banoo, Anil B.)

Published - November 29, 2024 07:11 am IST