The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) administration has removed the hawkers from the area within four days after residents warned that they would set up shops in front of the department office if action was not taken against the hawkers in the Colaba area. A total of 67 hawkers were removed in a major operation by the BMc on Wednesday.
In the last few years, the number of hawkers has increased everywhere in Mumbai, and residents have started demanding action against hawkers. The citizens of the Colaba area had given the civic body a seven-day deadline to remove the hawkers from the Colaba Causeway area.
On November 2, residents sent a letter to the municipality's A Department office, warning that if the hawkers were not removed within seven days, they would set up shops in front of the department office. Within just three to four days, the BMC has taken major action against unauthorised hawkers in the Colaba Causeway area.
The case of the BMC's hawker policy is in court. The number of hawkers in Mumbai has increased exponentially. In the past few months, hawkers have encroached on a large scale in the Colaba Causeway area, which is famous for shopping. The number of unauthorised stalls has increased rapidly in the last few months, leaving no space for pedestrians to walk safely. Therefore, the residents of Colaba Causeway had demanded the removal of illegal stalls and encroachments in the area within a week. Led by former BJP corporator Makarand Narvekar, residents of Colaba had sent a letter to the BMC administration, giving it a seven-day deadline.
More than 50 percent of the stalls in the Colaba Causeway area are illegal and the encroachments have made it difficult to walk on the sidewalks. The residents had warned in the letter that if the authorities did not take action against these illegal hawkers within seven days, they would set up shops in front of the department office. Therefore, the municipal administration has taken major action against hawkers in the Colaba Causeway area. During this operation, a total of 67 unauthorised hawkers in the Colaba Causeway area who were obstructing traffic and pedestrians were evicted. This action was carried out by the A Department of the BMC.
The Colaba Causeway area is just a stone's throw from the Gateway of India. A large number of tourists come to this area to shop for clothes, modern jewelry, goggles, slippers, purses, etc. As a result, the entire sidewalk is occupied by hawkers and customers. There is no space for pedestrians to walk here.