The BJP has launched a major offensive against Bangladeshi hawkers outside Dadar railway station on the west side. The party’s city unit president and MLA Ashish Shelar led a big dharna outside the station on Friday and slammed the civic administration for not taking action.
Local activist Akshata Tendulkar, who is spearheading the campaign, told the Free Press Journal on Sunday that a delegation of concerned citizens called on the Joint Commissioner of Police Satyanarain Chaudhary recently and submitted a memorandum, demanding strict action. She said the hawkers were led by one Jalaluddin who “managed” civic officials.
Tendulkar said that given the high level of corruption involved, she doesn’t expect much result from the current agitation. “Our only hope is the Bombay High Court, which in 2017 had directed that no hawking be permitted within 150 metres of railway stations. The hawkers in Dadar and local ward officials are clearly committing contempt of the high court. Hence, we are already in the process of filing a contempt petition soon,” she said.
No CCTV on Seized Goods
Tendulkar elaborated that earlier the goods seized from hawkers were stored at a place near Shivaji Park, which was equipped with CCTV cameras, but the godown has now been shifted to Wadala where there’s no CCTV surveillance and hawkers could retrieve their goods unhindered. She alleged that bogus Aadhaar cards were prepared for these Bangladeshis by a gang in Dadar.
A local resident, Shri Naik, said the Bangladeshi hawkers are well organised. If at all their goods are seized by the BMC staff, immediately a team swings into action to pay the fine and get the merchandise back within a short time. He said the Bangladeshis were not only occupying roads and pavements near Dadar railway station on the western side, but also taking several shops on rent near the flower market.
'Migrants Paying More Hafta' Replace Original Hawkers
“Over the past couple of months, the entire situation near Dadar on the western side has changed dramatically. The original hawkers have been simply eased out by the migrants by paying more hafta to the authorities concerned,” he alleged.
When contacted, a civic official claimed that action was being taken regularly against hawkers irrespective of their background. “Politicians are making an issue of the matter since the BMC elections are round the corner,” he said.
Hawkers Unwilling to Shift to ₹25 crore Building Built for Them
Incidentally, the BMC had built a multi-storeyed hawking area near Plaza cinema at a cost of over ₹25 crore, but the hawkers are unwilling to shift there as it will not generate the kind of footfalls that Dadar station generates. “The hawkers’ plaza is a criminal waste of public money,” Mr Naik observed.
Meanwhile, groups of civic activists in other parts of the metropolis are also readying to move contempt petitions against the hawkers and local ward officers for brazenly violating the 2017 order of the high court. The situation outside Ghatkopar station on the west side, Borivli West and Chembur East has become very alarming with hawkers violating the court order with impunity. “Railway commuters and other citizens simply have no space to walk near these stations,” Hemant Patare, an activist observed.
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