Hawkers have encroached on new spaces, this time the foot-over-bridge (FOB) connecting Andheri metro station and Andheri railway station. And they are likely to stay put, giving permanent trouble to commuters, who are already struggling for space within the trains as well as on platforms.

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As usual, authorities are passing the buck and turning a blind eye to the shrinking space for ordinary Mumbaikars who are always on the move.

On the eastern side of Andheri railway station, there's a sky-walk as well as a connecting foot-over-bridge.

The sky-walk, from Gokhale Bridge to Andheri railway station, was erected by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). "The bridge that links railway station and metro station was constructed by two different agencies," said an MMRDA official.

The section of the bridge connected to Andheri's northern end foot-over-bridge was built by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), whereas Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) has built the section that enters Andheri metro station.

Although, the portion made by MMOPL is hawker-free, the one constructed by BMC is in a sorry state with broken tiles strewn around and hawkers, reducing walking space.

"Like any other location in the city, here too hawkers are doing brisk business without fear of authorities or any kind of prosecution," said Dominic Fernandes, an Andheri resident.

Bhagyashree Kapse, assistant municipal commissioner of K/East ward (Andheri East), who is responsible for upkeep of the area, said: "As per the hawking policy, we are going on with the 'holding capacity survey' for hawkers. If there is space on the bridge, one side of it can be used for hawking."