Despite BMC crackdown, hawkers throng Andheri, Juhu

Hawkers keep thronging to Andheri, Juhu, Versova and DN Nagar despite repeated actions taken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in K West Ward, the civic body officials said.

Hawkers keep swarming to the ward despite the civic body taking stern action against 6694 sellers and collecting a fine of Rs 8.19 lakh till August. BMC officials, however, said the total fine it could have collected from the illegal hawkers could mount to Rs 4.09 crore.

The ward has only 528 licensed shops that operate along the footpath.

According to an official of the encroachment and removable department of K West ward, hawkers come back again despite the seizure of their belongings. "Many of them don't even come to collect their belongings. Instead, they prefer to buy new belongings instead of paying any penalty or redemption charges," said the official.

The officials have also seized around 302 cooking gas cylinders from the hawkers and will be returned to respective oil companies.

A senior civic official said continuous monitoring of hawkers is impossible with the skeletal number of staff. "The 23-km ward has 153 roads, and only one officer, along with 8 workers, looks after encroachment issues," said the official. There are several agencies who are involved in removing encroachments, he added.

Civic action

BMC’s K-west ward has only 528 licensed shops. 
Hawkers keep swarming to the ward despite the civic body taking stern action against 6694 sellers and collecting a fine of Rs 8.19 lakh till August.