Hawkers’ woes find voice in prin

Hawkers’ woes find voice in print 

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

MUMBAI, January 25: Hawkers in Mumbai finally have a platform of their own to air their grievances, if only in print. V N Ramchandran of the Mumbai Hawkers’ Union plans to start a four-page fortnightly in three languages – Hindi, Marathi and English. The magazine will focus exclusively on civic and other problems faced by hawkers in Mumbai.

The first issue of the publication, called Mumbai Hawker, is to hit the stands on Republic Day – January 26. Ramchandran will be its managing editor and publisher. Ramachandran had formed the hawkers’ union in 1966, and has been working with hawkers since. He informed that the first issue will deal extensively with the problem of extortion faced by hawkers. “The intention of this new publication is to safeguard hawkers’ interests, particularly at a juncture when they are very much in need of support and guidance to face the challenges posed from different quarters, mainly from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.” Hawkers are one of society’s most neglected and exploited sections who need help and support for their survival, he said.

He charged that the BMC and state government were bent on harassing and burdening hawkers by increasing daily receipts and fines, a decision which has added to general discontent among them.

The decision of the BMC to create hawking and non-hawking zones on the basis of directives laid down by the Supreme Court has aggravated the problem, rather than resolved it, he said.