K.R. Market vendors go on bandh over new parking arrangements

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A view of K.R. Market in Bengaluru on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

The iconic K.R. Market in the heart of the city wore a deserted look on Tuesday, with empty carts, fewer customers, and an eerie silence at a place where the buzz never ends.

For many street vendors, the issue goes beyond logistics and directly threatens their livelihoods. They alleged that civic officials had asked them to vacate their original vending spots and relocate inside the market, which would also require them to pay more money.

Lakshmi, a flower vendor, said, “They (the corporation) destroyed the place where we earn our livelihood. How do they expect us to buy a spot inside and then sell there? We will incur huge losses if they do this.”

Another vendor, who sells grapes, said he had been operating in the same spot for decades and is now being asked to move. “This is unfair. The increased cost of securing a place to sell is beyond impossible for us to bear. What do they gain from doing this apart from ruining our lives?” the vendor said with tears in his eyes.

The KRRSGB, headed by farmers’ leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar, submitted a memorandum to M. Maheshwar Rao, Chief Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), demanding that the new arrangements be revoked.

The association said that under the new arrangements, farmers are now forced to park their vehicles outside the market and walk nearly 300 to 400 metres to transport their produce, resulting in additional labour, time, and financial losses. They also alleged that street vendors have been displaced from their vending spots without any of the necessary backup measures.

They also raised concerns about emergency access, explaining that ambulances and fire engines struggle to enter the market during unforeseen situations. They cited a previous fire incident in which a person died because a fire engine could not reach the spot in time. The GBA has assured that it will look into the matter.

G. Jagadeesha of the Bengaluru Cen