Mumbai: Hawker-shopkeeper blow-out in Chembur

A bustling lane in Chembur devolved into chaos on Sunday after a group of shopkeepers told illegal hawkers not to cripple their business by blocking the footpath The shopkeepers said the roadside vendors became aggressive and abusive forcing them to call the police Shop owners from across Mumbai said the matter has now reached tipping point and the authorities must find a solution to this menace Shopkeepers insisted they are not against licensed hawkersA group of unauthorised roadside vendors in Chembur turned violent on Sunday when they were asked by members of a shopkeepersrsquo association not to block the shopsrsquo view and customersrsquo movementThe drama unfolded on the Narayan Gajanan Acharya Marg popularly known as N G Acharya Marg which runs parallel to the railway tracks near the Chembur station in the westAlso read Mumbai Dadar cleanup drive takes heat off hawkersCops after the clash in Chembur on SundayldquoThere are around 1000 shops in our association We at the association are getting constant complaints about the illegal hawkers They donrsquot have an association so we canrsquot even have a constructive discussion They occupy footpaths and roads and their stands reach up to 10 to 12 feet totally blocking our shopsrsquo view On Sunday when we went to talk to them some of them pushed us and abused us physicallyrdquo Kishore Kulkarni chairman of Chembur Merchantsrsquo AssociationKulkarni said the police registered a noncognisable offence against the hawkers but they want stringent action against them On Monday the road remained hawkerfree ldquoDespite several complaints the BMC hasnrsquot taken any action As per the rule there shouldnrsquot be any hawkers from 150 metres from the railway station But in our area not only footpaths are swallowed by the hawkers but they are eating up the air space alsordquo said another shopkeeper from Acharya MargldquoWe will not accept any such abuse against shopkeepers and will take up the issue with the city police commissioner No one can take the law into their hands Now the corporation should ensure that there are no illegal hawkers and they should not create nuisance to anyonerdquo said Viren Shah president of the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association FRTWA The association sent letters to the civic and police chiefs citing the assault on a member ldquoThe issue will be resolved jointly with the policerdquo said Vishwas Mote assistant municipal commissioner of Mwest ward that covers ChemburlsquoReached saturation pointrsquoEnraged shop owners looking beyond Chembur referring to similar problems across Mumbai said that the time to tiptoe around this and phrases like boiling points are understatements Sunil Shah president of Dadar Vyaapari Sangh stated upfront ldquoWe have not reached boiling point We have reached saturation point that is the uncomfortable but undeniable truthrdquoScene on N G Acharya Marg before the confrontationWhen Shah was told the confrontations have escalated now but there have been problems for years it is time for resolutions rather than harping on the impasse he shot back ldquoWhy should we the shopkeepers find a solution The solution must come from a system which has lsquocreatedrsquo this problem in the very first place If those responsible had undergone chemotherapy treatment earlier this cancer of illegalities and encroachment and because of that subsequent altercations would not have occurred in the first place Let me make it very clear we are not against licensed hawkers We are against land grabbers and thugs These are tacitly or else supported by certain politicians and some other authorities So it is evident the rot has seeped deep into the system it has to be pulled out by its rootsrdquoThe endHaresh Hathiramani of the Colaba Residents and Shopkeepers Association said ldquoWe all now have reached the end of our endurance Period We have about 140 licensed hawkers then why do we have 450 here Rules are made to be flouted In fact it is so laughable You will see a board on the roads saying lsquono hawkingrsquo Just below that board right below not even further away you will spot a hawker that is the level of impunityrdquo Hathiramani did accede that there is a semblance of action on a complaint ldquoWe will see some control and order for four days after a complaint has been filed On the fifth day I call it the boomerang effect it is back to disorder and chaosrdquoWard wiseShopkeepers stated that their business suffered greatly One owner said ldquoI know hawkers are doing much better business than the shops because the stores located usually behind them have no visibility and little access Recently there was a robbery in a store The surveillance footage was adversely affected because the hawking stand was blocking it Can you see the dangerous though not immediately apparent effects of thisrdquo Other owners added ldquoWe are seeing these confrontations now getting even edgier tense and more fraught There is a simmering sense of injustice that those who pay their taxes follow rules are paying the ultimate price What are the ward representatives voices of the people who know what exactly is going on but pretend to be surprised making flying lsquovisitsrsquo to spots when ownerhawker trouble brews going to do It is with them that the answer lies Do not ask us for solutionsrdquo