Traders and footpath vendors staged a protest on Sethuram Road in K.R. Market on Friday. The protest was against the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike officials, who had come prepared to demolish an old building.
The demolition was scheduled at 9 a.m. and earth movers had been brought to carry out the task. A large number of police personnel had also been deployed.
But traders and vendors demanded that they be given an alternative space to carry on their business. The BBMP officials were forced to put off the demolition work to Monday.
The BBMP wants to demolish the dilapidated building and widen the road. It has issued notices to traders directing them to vacate the building. However, the traders have refused. One trader even threatened to immolate himself if the BBMP went ahead with the demolition.
MLA Zameer Ahmad Khan, Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana and BBMP Commissioner M. Lakshminarayana visited the spot and pacified the traders.
BBMP sources said that the civic body had given permission to 17 traders to carry on with their business in the commercial building in 1964. However, only nine traders had taken the official permission from the BBMP, they claimed.
