Covid effect in Mumbai: More hawkers spring up, and in new streets

Many people who lost their jobs during the COVID19 pandemic were forced to resort to selling eatables to make a living But this has led to a new problem as once hawkerfree roads are full of them While people understand the issue of the jobless they say they are inconvenienced by the congested roads The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has not yet tackled the issue The hawkersrsquo policy that could help resolve it is still on paper after 7 years A man who lost his job at a garment factory said ldquoNow I sell fish on a road in BorivlirdquoThe BMC does not have any data of the number of people hawking in the various wards but most former corporators have made the observation that hawkers have increased Some officials said they act when they receive complaints but the hawkers get back againHawkers on both sides of Ramwadi lane near BhuleshwarBhuleshwarKhau galli in Bhuleshwar is almost packed with hawkers It wasnrsquot so before Agyari lane third Bhoiwada lane Ramwadi Dawa Bazar are full of eatable stalls and those of people selling vegetables ldquoA resident in my ward lost his job and now sells bananas in front of his building in Girgaon What will he do But again this creates a nuisance to traffic on the already narrow roads in Girgaonrdquo said Rita Makwana excorporator She said almost every street of Mumbai is flooded with these new hawkersSameer Mujawar who now sells fruits on one of the roads in Colaba said ldquoI used to work in a garment factory in Bhiwandi but lost my job during the pandemic I had to do something for a livelihood so with some help now I sell fruitsrdquoAnother person who worked as a packaging assistant in a garment factory in Dahisar also lost his job in the pandemic ldquoNow I sell fish on a road in Borivli It is not by choice but who will run my houserdquo he saidMany others have a similar story to tell ldquoMany people started vending on the roads in the pandemic when the old hawkers went to their villages Now some of the new ones have become full time vendorsrdquo said Salma Sheikh an activist who raises her voice for hawkers issuesAgyari Lane near Kalbadevi also has hawkers selling their goods on both sides of the road PicsBipin KokateKurlaPravina Morajkar excorporator from Kurla also said the number of hawkers increased as many people lost their livelihood in the COVID19 pandemic ldquoThe ward takes action after my complaints but the manpower is insufficient for the larger L wardrdquo he saidldquoWe get many complaints but the action was restricted due to manpower Now we are hiring labourers for the demolition driverdquo said Mahadeo Shinde ward officer of L ward Another official from the ward informed that they are hiring 17 labourers as complaints have increasedldquoThere are 8 police stations and 16 corporators in one ward with more than 9 lakh population The fund is the same for every ward and obviously we will have to wait for additional funds to take actionrdquo said Dharmendra More inspector of encroachment removal L wardAndheri E Vile Parle EPrashant Sapkale ward officer of K east ward said ldquoWe donrsquot have particular data but complaints are coming about increasing numbers as well as encroachment of hawkers on roads which were hawker free until a few months ago Some of the roads are in Vile Parle eastrdquoA vendor sells eatables at Ranade Road DadarDadarldquoComplaints about hawkers are on the rise These are especially about those selling eatables Dr Madhukar Raut Road or the end of Ranade Road near Senapati Bapat statue never had hawkers But many food stalls have come up on those roads Action has been taken at the ward levelrdquo said Kiran Dighavkar assistant commissioner G North wardKandivlildquoPeople who lost their jobs started food stalls as it requires minimum investment and Mumbaikars love food We call the ward office when there are complaints They send vehicles with personnel to act but the hawkers get to know this in advance and they flee for that time I understand the issue of people who do business this way but then BMC should give them proper places so that even customers will get better services and the roads footpaths will be free and there will be no hindrance to trafficrdquo said Surekha Patil excorporator from Kandivli Lokhandwala She claimed that Lokhandwala circle was the worst hit by hawkers There was not a single hawker on Akurli Road in 2017 but now whole traffic gets affected due to hawkers on both sides she saidldquoWe donrsquot have such data on increasing number of hawkers in a particular area We take action as and when we receive complaintsrdquo said Sandhya Nandedkar assistant commissioner of R south ward Official speakEvery ward receives Rs 20 lakh for demolition including hiring machinery and labourers Wards can ask for additional funds depending on the need ldquoThere are some wards with only 15 lakh population and some with over 8 lakh population The issues of encroachment and demolition are different So there needs to be studies and a clear policy on removal of encroachmentrdquo said an official from the BMCDayashankar Singh founder of Azad Hawkers Union said ldquoHawkers have increased Roads where there were no hawkers are now flooded with them and it is due to the corrupt practices of the BMC Why doesnrsquot the BMC take action If it had already implemented the hawkersrsquo policy and distributed vending certificates then they could easily throw out unauthorised hawkers But the BMC doesnrsquot want to do it and will continue its corrupt practicesrdquoldquoI havenrsquot received a demand for an increase in funds or information that the number of hawkers are increasing We have enough funds and the action should be taken at the ward levelsrdquo said Chanda Jadhav deputy municipal commissioner of removal of encroachmentHawkersrsquo policyAfter the Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Act was passed in 2014 and the Supreme Courtrsquos order the BMC started implementing the hawkersrsquo policy It distributed 128443 forms to hawkers in 2016 Around 99435 hawkers submitted their forms and 15361 were found to be eligible in 2020 After February 2020 the process stopped In the law committee meeting of the BMC held in October corporators demanded they be made members in zonal Town Vending Committees and passed a resolution Since there is no provision of involving corporators in TVCs in the Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Act 2014 the BMC sought clarity from the urban development department but no steps were taken later