At least 886 illegal paan bidi shops were demolished across the city in the past week, as part of a joint operation by the BMC and Mumbai police, Yet, we see the ‘boomerang’ effect, where many of these shops have resurfaced.

A local stated in a report that some of these demolished shops start doing business after 7 pm, post BMC’s working hours, and so escape action. Several locals claimed that these shops have opened close to schools and colleges and are a bad influence on youth.