Shivamogga: The ongoing efforts by Shivamogga City Corporation and local traffic police to reclaim footpaths and clear unauthorised roadside encroachments have picked up significant speed after nearly two years of persistent challenges. Due to the city’s densely populated commercial core and narrow roadways, managing pedestrian pathways and maintaining smooth vehicular movement have long posed a complex hurdle for municipal authorities.However, the drive has seen renewed momentum over the past six months following crucial interventions led by traffic circle inspector TV Devaraj. Joint enforcement teams have focused their operations on key commercial and high-density zones, successfully conducting clearance drives along major stretches, including Gandhi Bazaar, Nehru Road, Durgigudi, and Shankar Mutt Road. Authorities continue to enforce clear-zone guidelines across busy markets to prevent re-encroachment and improve public safety for pedestrians.Shivamogga City Corporation and traffic police initiated multi-phase awareness drives, marking white lines along major roadways and warning vendors to keep stalls outside pedestrian pathways. Intensive clearance drives targeted congested arterial routes, focusing on Gandhi Bazaar, Nehru Road, and Durgigudi to clear permanent and semi-permanent structures occupying walkways.Speaking to TOI, Shivamogga Municipal Corporation Commissioner Mayanna Gowda stated that only about 10% to 20% of the city’s encroachment removal work has been completed so far. He explained that while major stretches plagued by 15- to 20-year-old issues have been cleared using corporation and police resources, comprehensive action is still required against structures like illegal shop counters and commercial signboards erected on footpaths. Highlighting the administrative difficulty of balancing the Footpath Evacuation and Traffic Management Act with the Street Vendors Livelihood Protection Act, he emphasised, “We must protect vendors’ rights while ensuring public convenience.”Amid ongoing anti-encroachment and street-clearance operations across key arterial stretches in the city, small-scale street vendors along the busy Kuvempu Road find themselves caught in severe uncertainty.
