Mumbai: ‘We want our footpath back,’ say frustrated Marol residents

Hawkers encroaching on footpaths is not new but for a few Marol residents it has become a nuisance as most of the time vendors set up their stalls in such a way that the whole footpath is encroachedIn Marolrsquos Maroshi Road in Andheri East residents have claimed that vegetable and fruit vendors have taken over the footpath for the last decadeWhile most have been adjusting their lives around the stalls Aziz G Amreliwala a local resident has raised an issue over the inconvenience caused to pedestrians ldquoThough it is a little convenient for us residents to purchase vegetables it does not justify the encroachment by the vendorsrdquo said AmreliwalaRaising the point that the footpath is a very important part of the road infrastructure of the city Amreliwala questions and says that the vendors should be allotted proper market space by the BMCPrarthana Salve left and Mehek Joshi PicsMadhulika Ram KavatturldquoEncroaching on footpaths that too on such a narrow lane does not make sense for anyone The vendors themselves have to work around the cramped space Moreover vehicles are also parked right in front of the stalls and the pedestrians are forced further onto the roadrdquo he addedAnother local resident who did not wish to be named said that they sometimes use other buildingsrsquo areas to avoid walking on the road ldquoWe use the inside route sometimes but elderly people face difficulty as they canrsquot get on and off the steps there easilyrdquoldquoHawkers setting up shops roadside in South Mumbai where the footpaths are expansive makes sense but ours is such a narrow pathrdquo he addedWhile Amreliwala and some others want change there are a few in the area who are comfortable adjusting their lives around the stalls Mehek Joshi a commuter who daily uses the same road said ldquoThe vendors arenrsquot causing us any distress directly and walking on the road for such a short path is not an issue for me I feel bad for them as they would have to find alternative places if they are moved by BMC and it might affect their daily wagesrdquoAziz G AmreliwalaAgreeing with Joshi Prarthana Salve who commutes with her daily said ldquoIt has never crossed our mind that this is an issue we just walk around it and never felt like someone should be changedrdquoPointing out the flaws of adjusting to the situation Amreliwala said ldquoEveryone adjusts till something bad happens to them and once it does they want to change it no one thinks proactively and wants to work on finding a solution to the issuerdquomidday contacted the BMC K East ward to know why no work had been done on the said encroachment but did not receive a reply by the press time