Mumbai: BMC swoops down on Fashion Street, demolishes shops

At around 1130 am yesterday just as business at Fashion Street opposite the Bombay Gymkhana Club Fort was picking up the lsquoArsquo ward encroachment team lead by senior officer Nutan Jadhav swooped down on FS as it is called in these everything has an acronym and started demolition workShoppers had a mix of open and closed shops at Fashion Street after Nutan Jadhavs demolition drive yesterday PicsSatyabrata TripathyStall 1 had its illegal roof broken while the shopkeepers of Stall 5 claim that their goods were confiscated by the BMCNutan Jadhav stated that the BMC had cancelled the license of 36 hawkers on the Fashion Street stretch but these are the ones who keep coming backSome hawkers made the most of the situation striking good deals while the rest of the shopping promenade was closed as a mark of protestM Khan who works at a stall that sells handbags says ldquoJadhav marsquoam comes three to four times in a month and starts breaking our shops We never get any prior notice or warning She just drags us by the collar and picks sticks to beat us If we object she complains to the police and says we molested herrdquoJadhav reacts saying that she never hits anybody whatever force if any is used is used by the police She blamed the shopkeepers for gheraoing her and using mob mentality to intimidate her ldquoThey extend their stalls illegally and the real owners sublet their stallsrdquoThe shops all along Fashion Street were closed post the demolition Nadeem K a seller says ldquoSome shop owners took Jadhav and went to the police station She had no case against us yet she came We live in fear We decided to protest and close this world famous shopping centre today Our main business hour has been ruined by this driverdquoJadhav says the civic authorities are going to issue a notice to stall owners henceforth and give them two days time to clear all illegalities If they do not pay heed to this then they will swing into actionldquoWe need to maintain solidarity Also Jadhav can come at any time there is no guarantee It is better to lose business worth Rs 5000 rather than goods worth Rs 40000 Very often the fines are Rs 10000 plus and our goods get damaged or robbed If we take videos of the drive she breaks our phones or takes them away Jadhav doesnrsquot even spare shoppers taking videos she forcibly deletes thoserdquo says Sweety A who sells beltsJadhav retaliated saying that she in fact has videos of stall owners trying to intimidate herThough there was the call to close shops many shopkeepers towards the north side of Fashion Street whose shops were not touched chose to make hay when the sun shone They were selling their wares at cheaper prices and also warning customers that ahead there will be no shops openManish Patel a shopkeeper selling menrsquos clothes says ldquoWe get daily wages and our families depend on the money This is a weekly affair we are used to it now We cannot afford to keep our shops closed Since there is less option we are getting more businessrdquoShoppers were surprised to see Fashion Street out of sorts Neelima Malik a Sandhurst Road resident says ldquoThe shopkeepers told me that it is closed I walked ahead and found a few shops open near Cross Maidan There is very little choice available My cousins have come from Uttar Pradesh their day of shopping has been spoilt due to the dramardquoForeign tourists were very surprised Miguel Santana an Argentine who is visiting the country says ldquoI read a lot about Fashion Street in books about Mumbai It is very sad that it was closed today I was also looking forward to trying out my bargaining skillsrdquoIt was a happy moment for Tarun Yadav and his friends as shopkeepers were agreeing to low prices He says ldquoI am so glad to come today it is super sale The shopkeepers were busy ferrying their goods from taxis where they hid them during the demolition Some were resetting up their stalls I feel we got the best deal in all this dramardquo