BMC drive transforms stations

MUMBAI, July 17: Nobody shoving goods into your face, no le lo entreaties yelled into your ear. The ambience outside railway stations has...

MUMBAI, July 17: Nobody shoving goods into your face, no le lo entreaties yelled into your ear. The ambience outside railway stations has changed beyond the pale, and commuters are thanking the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC for it.

The results of the drive, launched last fortnight against hawkers whose stalls fell within 250 metres of stations, may vary, but one thing8217;s certain: the BMC is being patted for its actions. And it8217;s not just commuters who are heaving collective sighs of relief: authorised shopkeepers who have regained lost ground are reportedly showing increased sales.

Fazle Rehman, who runs a readymade garment shop outside Kurla west railway station, thanked the BMC for sending lost customers8217; back to his shop. 8220;Commuters would normally not take the trouble of walking that extra mile to our shop, and would prefer to buy from the hawkers, who charge less,8221; he said. When Rehman set up shop 10 years ago, there was little traffic congestion on the roads. But time, and badplanning, caused the narrow road from Kurla bus depot leading to the station to get choked with hawkers, making it difficult for commuters. Byculla station is also a changed place, as commuters taking buses from outside the station find it a lot easier.

A similar change can be seen at Goregaon west. Not that the hawkers took the BMC offensive too well: they attacked civic officials, one of whom is admitted to the Cooper hospital in a serious condition. But 8220;at least a beginning has been made8221; stated Meena Shah, a housewife. Admitting that hawkers cannot be done away with, she stated: 8220;The BMC should shift them to roads which are not so busy so that commuters are not inconvinienced.8221;

And at Andheri, the drive has been a victory for a group of shopkeepers, who have been trying to get the hawkers evicted for the last two years claiming that the hawkers8217; behaviour, especially towards women, had reduced clientele. At Charni Road, the hawkers may have shifted, but their space has been grabbed by taxidrivers. Complained 51-year-old resident Dinesh Parikh 8220;Commuters have got nothing. However, the roads are cleaner and there is no rotten vegetable waste strewn around,8221; he observed.

And Malad8217;s hawkers have devised an entreprising way to tackle the BMC. They put up their stalls on Sundays and public holidays when civic officials are on leave. At other stations, the hawkers8217; presence still stays, but on a much smaller scale.

To ensure that the drive stays a success, the BMC has decided to deploy chowkies at all railway stations, plus a vehicle between 8 am and 8 pm. The moment hawkers try to sneak back to their workplaces, officials confiscate their goods. Deputy municipal commissioner Chandrasekhar Rokade in charge of demolitions said police and civic staff in charge of removing the hawkers would be armed with weapons.