Shopkeepers and citizens in Ghatkopar West are at their wits’ end as illegal hawkers continue to multiply in the suburb. They say unauthorised street vendors have encroached upon the footpaths of the bustling station road and spread to a radius of 3 km, including MG Road and Khot Lane. A few weeks ago, illegal hawkers had assaulted a member of a shop owners’ association in Chembur, angering shopkeepers from across the city.

Locals said the number of illegal hawkers selling clothes, footwear, food items and other household goods has increased in recent times, forcing them to walk on the busy road. Bhavni Mehta, who lives at Cama Lane, said she doesn’t face hawker menace near her home but walking back home from Ghatkopar station in the evening is quite exhausting. “You have no choice but to walk on the roads and there are auto drivers who drive recklessly along with buses and two-wheelers. So you have to be cautious with that as well,” said the 24-year-old. There is no escape from the daily risks, she rued.