BMC will soon swoop down on illegal hawkers….Stuti Shukla
Bid to decongest crowded areas
Bid to decongest crowded areas
Mumbai Close on the heels of the recent terror attacks in citys crowded pockets, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to intensify its drive against unauthorised hawkers and illegally parked vehicles along narrow and thickly populated streets.
It has identified 25 spots, mostly in South Mumbai, where strict action will be taken against illegal hawkers and food vendors. A plan of action is being chalked out by top civic officials to deal with the menace of close to 1.80 lakh illegal roadside hawkers across the city, officials said.
The civic body will soon write to the Mumbai Police and the Traffic Police to support it in the drive. Deputy Municipal Commissioner (removal of encroachment) Chandrashekhar Rokde said the BMC is trying to analyse possible solutions to decongest the narrow bylanes of the commercial hubs along Mohammed Ali Road, Kalbadevi, suburban station areas etc.
Congestion is mostly caused due to vendors and illegally parked vehicles. We will now be increasingly vigilant about cracking down on them. We have approached the Traffic Police to help us deal with the problem of illegally parked vehicles. We plan to launch the drive in three to four days, said Rokde. He added that the three target spots Dadar station area, Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House are their top priority.
Despite penalising the vendors, they keep coming back to the streets since it is a lucrative business. We have to come up with a foolproof action plan that deters hawkers from returning. Decongestion will naturally help increase security in these areas, said Rokde.
Areas outside Chembur, Khar, Bandra, Andheri, Kandivali, Borivali, Dahisar and Santacruz railway stations are also included in the list as they see a lot of encroachment.
Meanwhile, an official said despite making multi-level public car parks and designated pay-and-park centres, people continue to park vehicles on the road illegally. With the help of the Traffic Police, we plan to come down hard on illegally parked vehicles because the mentality of people is difficult to change, he said.