Gandhi Bazaar Basavanagudi: Then and Now

Gandhi Bazaar is a popular landmark in Basavanagudi, South Bangalore. I frequent here during most of my visits. Gandhi bazaar main road is a busy street housing several popular establishments in the region (Vidhyarthi Bhavan, Roti Ghar etc). Ever since I remember, Gandhi Bazaar is also known for its road side market, selling flowers, vegetables and other stuff. Reportedly these shops have been operational since over 40 years. While hundreds of vendors earned their daily bread by selling their stuff here, these shops would occupy almost half of the road, leaving very little for other vehicles. Couple of underpass constructions nearby (near Basavanagudi police station) has increased load on Gandhi Bazaar main road.

Below are couple of photos I had taken about an year ago in Gandhi Bazaar.

Why am I writing all these? 2 days ago everything changed. Overnight BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike or Greater Bangalore Municipality Corporation) decided to evacuate these shops and clean up the roads. Their overnight swift action made headlines next day. The pictures and news came as a shocker to many, including myself.

There're views both supporting and opposing demolition. Some feel these shops were integral part of local community, while others feel it was right move which was long overdue. Some say BBMP action has hurt the livelihood of many vendors, while others ask why not do the same for other markets. Few prominent personalities, including Editor/Writer Ravi Belagare have reportedly decided to fight for the rights of these vendors.

Above image from RB's fan page

Some insist BBMP should have given notice to the vendors and time to vacate, while others say giving notice would only create more trouble as vendors will get stay order or sit infront of the shops preventing authorities from evicting them. Many politicians have talked about relocating these shops but nothing has materialized.

* Surprisingly Churumuri didn't carry any story on this.

Another touching write up (Kannada) on Avadhi mag (link now working now in 2020, removed) (extract below)

ಹೂವು, ಹಣ್ಣು, ತರಕಾರಿ, ಪಂಚೆಯುಟ್ಟ ಹಿರಿಯರು, ತಣ್ಣನೆಯ ಮುಂಜಾನೆ, ಲವಲವಿಕೆಯ ಮುಸ್ಸಂಜೆ, ಮಸಾಲೆದೋಸೆ, ಸುಬ್ಬಮ್ಮನ ಅಂಗಡಿಯ ಚಟ್ನಿಪುಡಿ, ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಕಡ್ಲೆಬೀಜ, ಕನ್ನಡ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಮತ್ತು ಬಿಸಿಬಿಸಿ ಕಾಫಿ!
 ಇಷ್ಟನ್ನೂ ಒಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ಕರೆದರೆ ಅದು ಗಾಂಧೀಬಜಾರು. ಒಳಗೆ ಕಾಲಿಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಸ್ವಾಗತಿಸುವುದು ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ, ಸೇವಂತಿಗೆ, ಸುಗಂಧರಾಜದ ಪರಿಮಳ. ಜರಿಲಂಗ, ತುಂಬುತೋಳಿನ ರವಕೆ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು ವ್ಯಾಪಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಕುಳಿತ ಹೊಳಪುಗಣ್ಣಿನ ಬಾಲಿಕೆಯರು. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಲ್ಲಿ ಋತುಮಾನದ ಬದಲಾವಣೆ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗುವುದೇ ಗಾಂಧೀಬಜಾರಿನಲ್ಲಿ. ಕಾಲಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾವಿನ ಮಿಡಿ, ಅಮಟೇಕಾಯಿ, ಅವರೇಕಾಯಿ, ಕಡ್ಲೇಕಾಯಿ, ಬಗೆಬಗೆಯ ಹೂವು, ವಿಧವಿಧದ ಹಣ್ಣು ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಗೊಳಿಸಿದರೇನೇ ಅದು ಗಾಂಧಿಬಜಾರು. ಹಬ್ಬಗಳ ಸಡಗರ ಶುರುವಾಗುವುದೂ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯೇ. ತುಳಸೀಗಿಡ, ನೆಲ್ಲಿಕಾಯಿ ಗಿಡ, ಬಾಳೆಕಂಬ, ಮಾವಿನ ಎಲೆ, ಗರಿಕೆಗೆ ಬೇಕು ಗಾಂಧೀಬಜಾರು. ಮನೆಗೆ ಪಂಚೆಯುಟ್ಟ ನೆಂಟರು ಬಂದರೆ ಸ್ಕೂಟರು ಹತ್ತಿ ಗಾಂಧೀಬಜಾರಿಗೆ ಜಾರಿದರೆ ಹಸಿರು ಬಾಳೆಎಲೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲೂ ಲಭ್ಯ. ಗಾಂಧೀಬಜಾರು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಸರ್ವಋತು ಬಂದರು.

What is your take on the incident?

Even in Chennai authorities have seized several shops in T Nagar last year due to violation of building norms (Supreme court granted 6 weeks relief for Pongal on this)