Hawker-free zones will be enforced by the BMC and the police 100 metres outside Railway Stations

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Police Department will work together to prosecute unlicensed hawkers who sell their wares within a 100-meter radius of railway stations. On Tuesday, Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey convened a meeting with representatives from the BMC, Railway, NGOs, and the hawker’s union to make a decision.

 

The presence of hawkers near train stations, hospitals, over bridges, and beneath bridges, according to the police commissioner, increases traffic congestion. Hawkers also occupy both sides of the road in numerous areas, according to the police. Many licensed store owners rent out modest spaces in front of their establishments to hawkers. Because individuals can't stroll freely in congested markets, incidents like chain snatching are on the rise.

 

On Tuesday, Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Pandey convened a meeting at the Crawford Market police headquarters after getting multiple complaints from locals regarding unlawful hawkers. The meeting was attended by approximately 50 people from the Railways, the BMC, the Traffic Police, shopkeepers' and hawkers' groups. Pandey, who pioneered a new paradigm in police by using Facebook and other social media to communicate with the public and hear their problems, asked all representatives to take action against hawkers to keep railway premises for free wandering. Traffic police and hawker’s associations guaranteed their support to the call.

 

"It is nothing new; we have been taking action against unlicensed hawkers for the past four years. However, because of the Covid problem, the drives have been halted for the past two years. We've told the police commissioner that hawkers will be evicted from within 150 metres of the railway station. Even hawkers' representatives were willing to work together "Deputy Municipal Commissioner for Removal and Encroachment Chanda Jadhav stated.

 

The Mumbai Hawkers' Union, on the other hand, is opposed to the move and wants a complete policy for hawkers rather than stopgap measures. Shashank Rao, the president of the trade union, said "The Police Commissioner and the BMC are focusing solely on evictions of hawkers, with no mention of their relocation. In 2014, the BMC conducted a survey. That poll was also incorrect. On the one hand, the law protects livelihoods, while on the other hand, local authorities and police are robbing hawkers of their livelihood. You should establish effective hawker policies to guarantee that they do not sit and block roads and pathways."

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @sambhajeeatwork