Mumbai: Hawkers flood Borivli 2 weeks after eviction

On the day of the Ram Mandir consecration January 22 Borivlirsquos roads were cleaned and made hawkerfree Residents thought it to be the beginning of Ram Rajya but to everyonersquos disappointment the hawkers are back Citizens expressed disappointment and blamed the R Central ward of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC for not ending the menace When midday visited three spots in Borivli West on January 22 there were no hawkers in sight but on February 7 on revisiting the areas it was found out that the vendors were back in full force blocking lanes to sell their waresHawkers obstruct traffic and inconvenience pedestrians while plying their trade in Borivli West on February 7 PicsNimesh DaveBMC marketThe spacious road is always seen encroached by fruit and vegetable vendors making it very difficult for vehicles to passShreyas Shinde a resident said ldquoThere is no space for even people to walk let alone drive The vendors are notorious for encroaching and throwing away vegetable waste on the road making it even more difficult to navigate on the street even on footrdquoAlso Read World Pulses Day 2024 Bamboo beans to blackeyed peas lesserknown healthy pulses to include in your daily diet and unique pulses recipesldquoThis road is always encroached on by hawkers selling vegetables and fruits If the BMC has provided a dedicated market space nearby why are vendors allowed on the road I am still confused as to why BMC is not taking action Ironically the Borivli police station has to keep its back gate closed because there is no chance for a vehicle to pass on this road Even the back entrance of the metropolitan magistrate court is located on this road and the court is also not ordering the clearance of hawkers from this roadrdquo said resident Prashik KambleOutside Indraprastha Shopping CentreThe stretch is flooded by makeshift fastfood vendors which creates a bottleneckldquoVehicles coming from Dahisar towards Kandivli on SV Road usually face an issue at this spot We get stuck in traffic as these vendors occupy a complete lane This causes a bottleneck and the BMC also doesnrsquot take any action I usually travel on this road at peak hours and the bottleneck is a severe issue What if some emergency service vehicle gets stuck here Someone can lose their life due to thisrdquo said a commuterMihir Joshi a Malad resident said ldquoComing to Borivli is easier than returning home because of the bottleneck caused by hawkers I travel three days a week to Borivli for work and every time it becomes hectic to return to Malad During the Ram Mandir consecration the hawkers were evicted but now the situation is back to the way it was I was shocked to see the actual width of the road when hawkers were not encroaching on itrdquoLT RoadThe stretch towards Borivli station from Om Jewellers is infested with makeshift shops selling shoes chappals and bags which block an entire laneA commuter ldquoThe situation in the evenings is terrible One lane is blocked by these hawkers and people have to walk on the roads This makes it more difficult for the traffic flowrdquoldquoThe fact that BMC is allowing these makeshift shops to function despite knowing the situation is surprising Urgent intervention from the authorities is requiredrdquo said another residentA commuter stuck in traffic lamented ldquoWe were initially positive that Ram Rajya had started but the BMC as always decided to disappoint usrdquoTraffic policersquos takeA senior official from Borivli traffic division said ldquoAll three locations are always flooded by traffic as one lane is always blocked by these hawkers The BMC should act against the hawkers so that the roads are freed up One lane is always blocked causing a bottleneck and on top of that pedestrians donrsquot use the skywalk adding up to the congestion Also many people stand on roads to buy the goods sold by these hawkersrdquoBMCSpeakSandhya Nandedkar assistant municipal commissioner R Central ward said ldquoWe have started taking action on the illegal hawkers and makeshift shops every morningrdquoldquoWe will start taking action from 5 pm and ensure no hawker returns We are sure that the roads will be hawkerfree soon Hawkers usually come back the same day even after we take action Hence we are planning to crack down on them during the evening peak hours as wellrdquo