Thane locals’ move to drive out hawkers
December 7, 2006
Disillusioned with Thane Municipal Corporation’s apathy in checking the menace of hawkers, local citizens have taken it upon themselves to tackle encroachments on the city roads. To begin with, they plan to take out a morcha on December 11 to highlight the problem.
The city, which took pride in its wide roads, is reeling under an unprecedented crisis as most roads have fallen prey to the hawkers who have taken over the footpaths and even spilled over to portions of the road, making it almost impossible for pedestrians to walk. Adding to their woes are the perpetual repair works carried on either by the civic body or some other utility.
Leading the citizens’ initiative is Prof Vijay Daptardar. “We’re disappointed with the TMC’s feedback. They don’t have information about hawkers, hawking zones as well as the action taken in response to our complaints,’’ he said.
The TMC had earlier stated in one of its letters that they had formed 30 no-hawking zones, but were not able to say how many hawking zones really existed. “The drives undertaken by the TMC are nothing but an eyewash,’’ said Rajesh Jadhav, president of the Bramhand bus commuters association. Bus commuters who had complained about the ‘sarbatwallahs’ causing inconvenience to them were threatened. The railway station area is also swarming with hawkers. “The moment we come out we have to encounter the hawkers,’’ said Sangita Kakde, an officer-goer.
A Thane Municipal Corporation official, requesting anonymity, said: “We have undertaken drives against the hawkers but they keep coming back as the public prefers buying from them. The people are also responsible for the nuisance.’’
On the traffic snarls, DCP traffic Dr Dnyaneshwar Chavan said: “We’re trying to find alternatives, but our experiments are yet to yield results.”
The locals, however, are not willing to buy these excuses. “We have heard that some TMC officers get bribes from the hawkers so that they can carry on with their business. We had expressed this fear during our meetings with senior officers. But no action was taken,’’ said Daptardar.