Mumbai: Ward-level crackdown on illegal hawkers begins

SV Road near Borivli railway station wears a bare look as hawkers are nowhere to be seen on Friday. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Following civic chief Bhushan Gagrani's orders, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday started acting against illegal hawkers at the ward level. To this end, it has appointed two licence inspectors, who will operate in two shifts, for crowded areas that are being targeted in the first phase of the crackdown. The action will take place every day between 8 am and midnight.

A civic official told mid-day, "The licence inspectors will continuously monitor the situation in 19 hawker-prone areas of the city. A team of civic officials and police will also be present at these spots."

According to the BMC, action has been taken against illegal food stalls. "We have seized 713 handcarts and 1,037 LPG cylinders that were used for cooking on roads in a week," the official claimed.

"We have started taking action against all kinds of hawkers in every ward," he added. Learning from experience, the BMC has decided to involve the police as hawkers tend to return to their spots and resume operations after being driven out.

"After taking action, our team will remain present with police officers, which will prevent hawkers from operating again," said the official.

As directed by the Bombay High Court, Gagrani ordered officers to make city roads and footpaths hawkers-free and remove abandoned vehicles and encroachments.

Although the action against hawkers is being conducted by officers of wards, senior officials from zones and headquarters will continue monitoring the action and even visit these spots to review the situation on the ground.

713
No. of handcarts seized