The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has directed civic officials to intensify the 'Pedestrian First' campaign by immediately removing illegal hawkers and encroachments from footpaths to ensure they are safe and accessible for pedestrians.
To review the progress of the initiative, Bhide on Wednesday conducted inspections in the K West and P South wards in Mumbai's western suburbs. She visited the footpaths along Swami Vivekananda Road and Ram Ganesh Gadkari Marg in Vile Parle (West), where heavy pedestrian movement is witnessed due to the presence of Cooper Hospital and nearby educational institutions.
The BMC has identified the route connecting Swami Vivekananda Road to Cooper Hospital as a priority corridor because of the high movement of patients, ambulances and college students.
Under the first phase of the 'Pedestrian First' campaign, the civic body aims to clear encroachments from 320 kilometres of footpaths across Mumbai to provide uninterrupted and safe walking space for citizens.
In the K West ward, 27 roads have been selected out of a total of 355 roads. Encroachments along approximately 37.7 kilometres of footpaths on these roads will be removed during the first phase of the drive.
Bhide instructed officials to immediately remove all illegal hawkers, encroachments and other obstructions from footpaths. She also directed the civic administration to undertake improvement, beautification and safety measures to make footpaths more pedestrian-friendly.
Senior civic officials, including Joint Commissioner (Zone IV) Dr. Bhagyashree Kapase, Deputy Commissioner Prashant Gaikwad, and Assistant Commissioner of P South Ward Kundan Walvi, were present during the inspection.
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