Residents on and around Hill Road are a happy lot. As reported by this newspaper, the busy stretch has been free of hawkers since early January. This, residents said, was due to a concerted effort by concerned citizens and the BMC, with a major part of the credit going to the local police. The cops have apparently led the charge in ensuring that illegal hawkers, once identified and evicted by the civic body, do not return, thanks to regular patrolling of the area.

While this is indeed good news, there is a whole lot more to be done by the city when it comes to hawkers and formulating a proper town vending policy.