‘No footpaths left to walk for Mumbaikars’

Fed up with illegal hawkers obstructing the cityrsquos footpaths and roads Mumbai residents have moved the Bombay High Court seeking a permanent solution A Borivli resident had filed a writ petition highlighting the disruptions caused by unauthorised vendors who endanger pedestrians across neighbourhoodsThe high court in 2023 while hearing the writ petition filed by the resident Pankaj Agarwal had stated ldquoWe direct the registry to obtain approval from the Honrsquoble Chief Justice to register a suo motu PIL tentatively to be captioned ldquoIn Re Pedestrian Access Safety and Footpaths in Mumbairdquo to address the questions and issues noted above If approval is granted this writ petition will be tagged with the PIL Directions are to be obtained to have the PIL assigned or listed before an appropriate bench Other directions including appointing amicus can then followrdquoThe intervenorAtul Vora a Kandivli resident said ldquoBandra Reclamation Area Volunteers Association BRAVO and I intervened in the suo motu petition which is based on the writ petition filed by Agarwal last yearrdquoScores of vendors go about their business on SV Road in Borivli West on February 7 PicsNimesh DaveHe added ldquoA bench comprising Justice Gautam Patel and Justice Kamal Khata slammed the BMC while hearing the suo motu petition on February 12 stating lsquoYou are forcing Mumbaikars to walk on traffic roadsrsquordquoHe continued ldquoThe court also asked the civic body what problem was it facing in removing hawkers permanently To our surprise the senior lawyer had no other answer other than lsquothe BMC removes hawkers But they come and sit there againrsquo In response the bench said lsquoEven after taking action the hawkers are coming again so donrsquot your officials have any permanent solution in this regard If there is no solution the municipal corporation should find it because there are no footpaths left for Mumbaikars to walk Mumbaikars are forced to walk on the streets due to the presence of hawkers on the footpaths In such a situation if an accident occurs who will take responsibility for itrsquordquoVora said ldquoThe court asked for suggestions as to how the hawker issue can be tackledrdquomidday in November 2023 and on February 8 shed light on the hawker menace in Ghatkopar and Borivli respectivelyVora told this reporter ldquoJustice Gautam Patel referred to middayrsquos report lsquoHawkers flood Borivli 2 weeks after evictionrsquo while asking the BMC to find a permanent solutionrdquoThe next hearing will be held on March 1Netizens hail observationsThe Bombay High Courtrsquos observations on Monday were lauded by netizens on X formerly TwitterOne Sachin Dubey posted ldquoBombay High Court on Monday cracked down on BMC for not removing illegal hawkers from the streets BMC is the one forcing us to walk on already overcrowded streets by not acting on illegal hawkers Good decision by the high courtrdquoA post by _DBlackMamba alleged ldquoMTPHereToHelp will penalise you for HAULTING your car outside Borivli railway station But the 3 3 lane is covered with hawkers on the footpaths 2 lanes of road This has been the case for 20 years or so Even mybmc ward officials are involved in this hafta vasooli sicrdquoResidents reactA Borivli resident requesting anonymity said ldquoResidents have resorted to appealing to the high court as the BMC has failed to do its duty The civic body acts only when it is penalised by authorities but after some time hawkers are always back and no action is taken by the BMC Officials are only responsible for providing licences to these hawkers but those who lack them also are freely doing business eluding the authoritiesrdquoRitesh Khedekar a Kandivli resident told midday ldquoIf the illegal hawkers could have been evicted by the BMC on the Ram Mandir consecration day why canrsquot the authorities make sure the same is done on all the days throughout the year Why is there no permanent solution to the issue There have been many instances in the past where an emergency service vehicle could not reach its destination on time because of roads being blocked by hawkers Who is going to take up responsibility for any loss of life during unforeseen emergency circumstancesrdquoShreyas Shinde a Borivli resident said ldquoThe situation at many places is dire It seems the BMC has forgotten about the rule about having a 200metre nohawking zone outside railway stations The situation is the same at Dadar Borivli Ghatkopar Andheri Kandivli Vile Parle and Goregaon stations among othersrdquoVikhroli resident Omkar Parab had told midday earlier ldquoThe common man does not know where to file complaints in such cases Awareness is very necessary The CM should also look into the matter if the municipal corporation fails in its duty No political party looks into the issues faced by the common man when it comes to hawkers encroaching on footpaths and roads This also causes severe traffic issuesrdquoParab said ldquoAround 15 per cent of the issues faced by the common man will be resolved if hawkers are removed from the area of the railway stationrdquoA Dadar resident said ldquoThe situation here Dadar is the worst Every morning hawkers and flowers and vegetable vendors flood the road just outside Dadar station It seems the BMC is not concerned about at all how people feel while travelling in this messrdquoBMCSpeakAdditional Commissioner Dr Ashwini Joshi told midday ldquoWe are aware of the high courtrsquos orders It has asked the BMC what steps we are going to take on the hawker issue Our advocate is taking instructions from the BMCrdquoAsked about what measures will be taken she said ldquoAccording to the high courtrsquos orders we will be presenting our side in courtrdquo2023Year writ petition was filed