Shops tell BEST to drop stop

JANUARY 21: It’s boiled down to a question of equality. Three small shops on the busy S V Road are demanding that a bus stop that blocks their view be removed, for its affecting their business adversely. The shopowners won’t take no for an answer for they have a precedent in Hotel Moti Mahal and the saree shop Paneri. Bus stops in front of these two establishments were shifted for similar reasons.

“If bus stops can be shifted to protect the businesses of the rich, then we too have a case,” says Ishaq Makwana, owner of Variety Carpet Corner, one of the shops. He adds that the stop encroaches upon the pavement and it’s a problem for the pedestrians too. Ismail Makwana, Ishaq’s brother and a corporator, says the stop is of little use and helps only in creating traffic bottlenecks. “This stop is useless for three reasons. First, it is just a short distance away from the Andheri bus depot. Second, the buses usually get full at the depot itself and there is hardly any space left for the passengers who board from here. It also obstructs pedestrian traffic, particularly in the evening,” he adds. His neighbouring shop-owners say their customers have a hard time entering the shop when the three queues (for three routes -254, 257 and 258) are arrayed. One of them said they were ready to even pay the cost of the construction of new bus stop a little distance away. The properietor of Ambika Electronics, Hitesh Thakkar, says the bus stop has reduced his shop’s visibility. “If the customer walking on the road can not see my shop, how is he going to give me business.”

However, the business angle is not cutting much ice with the BEST. Said BEST GM, V M Lal, a BEST-appointed committee had rejected the idea of shifting the stop. “However, if commuters and pedestrians are facing problem, then we will inspect the site again,” he said. Another official said: “We can recommend shifting, but the final authority rests with the traffic police.”