Long-time traders near Bengaluru’s Town Hall are relocating from the once-bustling SP Road and Silver Jubilee Park (SJP) Road due to worsening civic neglect. Once a hub for electronics and hardware, the area now grapples with poor drainage, chronic parking problems, and unhygienic surroundings.
Rahul Goyal, a local vendor, highlighted the drainage as the main issue, noting that rainwater from KG Road flows downhill, bringing silt and muck that is rarely cleared. Overflowing drains and stagnation are routine. Parking woes are severe—despite being a single-lane zone, three to four rows of vehicles occupy the street, compounded by abandoned vehicles and encroaching street vendors.
Traders like C. Ravindra Aradhya are struggling. “We face waterlogging throughout the year, have no proper sanitation, and customers find it hard to even reach us,” he said. Business owners are forced to park on footpaths and often vacate spaces for customers. Many shops have already shifted to other locations.
Public spaces around Town Hall and Jamia Masjid, including nearby parks, exacerbate the issue. Despite multiple toilets, open urination is rampant, and broken fences allow antisocial activities, making the parks feel unsafe even in daylight.
As a solution, traders have suggested converting underused parks into structured parking without disturbing existing trees. “There’s enough space for multi-level parking,” Amit, another vendor, said.
A BBMP official acknowledged the area’s drainage and crowd-related issues, adding that patrols and recent clean-ups have started, but deeper solutions are under review.
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