Citizens demand more information about the hawking zones demarcated by civic body, while many are entirely opposed to vendors setting up in their locality
Citizens argue that placing hawkers on the road or footpaths will inconvenience motorists and pedestrians. File pic
The BMC will have a tough time selling its Hawkers Policy to citizens, many of whom are opposed to idea of hawkers setting up in their locality altogether. On January 5, the civic body published a list demarcating 85,891 hawking pitches across the city. Mumbaikars have until January 31 to submit their objections and suggestions. One of their biggest complaints is that there aren't enough details about the hawking zones – their placement, hours of operation, or whether they will be stalls or handcarts. Many are entirely opposed to allowing vendors to peddle their wares on the roads and footpaths.
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Kevin Coutinho, a resident of Borivli, explained, "The BMC has proposed 50 hawkers' pitches on Holy Cross Road. There is no mention of where these will be located – on the road or the pavement, on one side of the road or on both sides." "The road is about 30 feet across, and the hawkers will take up at least three feet, while customers will eat into even more road space. It'll be worse if they place vendors on both sides of the road. Hawking on this busy road will reduce the motorable area and endanger the life of the hawkers, their patrons and pedestrians," he added.
But that's not the only concern. According to BMC regulations, there cannot be a hawking zone within a 100-metre radius of a school, hospital or religious shrine. "But hawking pitches have been proposed on Holy Cross Road, even though Vibgyor School is right there," said Coutinho. Coutinho has written to the local ward office and the deputy municipal commissioner (Special) to ask for details about the 3,090 hawking zones demarcated in R-North ward (Dahisar). The BMC is yet to appoint a Town Vending Committee in the ward.
Nehal Shah, BJP corporator, Matunga
'Don't want hawkers'
Meanwhile, Nehal Shah, the BJP corporator from Matunga, has taken a much sterner stand on the issue. In a letter to the municipal commissioner on January 12, Shah has demanded that all proposed hawking zones be cancelled on 10 roads in Ward 177, including Khareghat Road, Flank Road, Deodhar Road, Telang Road, Bhandarkar Marg, and Manekrao Lotalikar Marg. She has further asked for the area to be a declared a no-hawking zone. Shah told this paper, "Placing hawkers here will be unfair to the residents, as they will not be able to utilise the footpath for walking. It will also lead to an increase in traffic issues, as the width of roads is already less. Cleanliness and hygiene issues will also affect the locals."
She added, "The civic body should instead create a hawking plaza, using available space in the Lal Bahadur Shastri market, near Matunga railway station. I have requested the administration to cancel the proposed hawking zones on our roads, considering the best interest of citizens of Dadar, Matunga and Sion." Citizens across Bandra, Andheri, Colaba and other areas have also opposed the BMC's list of hawking zones, and have written to the Corporation to express their objections.
Officialspeak
"All genuine and reasonable suggestions and objections will definitely be considered. Before the policy is finalised, citizens will get another chance to come forward with suggestions and objections," said a senior official from the office of the deputy municipal commissioner (DMC) (Special), who is supervising the implementation the Hawker Policy.
The official explained how the policy will work: "The majority of hawkers will be given 1X1 metre pitches for hawking. The size can change in exceptional cases, such as disabled vendors. That will be decided by zonal town vending committees. No hawkers will be permanent, but they can have stationary or mobile set-ups." "We are thinking of implementing a time-share system, assigning three hawkers to each slot. Each hawker will get six hours at the spot. There will be a two-hour gap between one peddler and the next, which will give them enough time to pack up or set up. Implementation of this system is very tough. We are thinking of using some kind of software to regularise and monitor the time slots. We will try to start it in a few wards first, and then replicate in others."
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