The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has removed 144 unauthorised stalls from Sabu Siddik Road, Musafirkhana and Manish Market in south Mumbai over two days as part of its Pedestrian First campaign, the civic body said.
The BMC’s Maintenance and Encroachment Removal Department removed 52 stalls from the three locations on Thursday. The action followed a drive on Wednesday, when 92 unauthorised stalls were removed from Sabu Siddik Road and the Musafirkhana area.
The structures taken down during the operation included temporary stalls made from tarpaulin sheets, bamboo, iron pipes and iron sheets, as well as permanent unauthorised iron stalls, according to the civic body.
The drive followed an inspection of Sabu Siddik Road and Musafirkhana on October 13 by Deputy Municipal Commissioner Chanda Jadhav and elected public representatives. Assistant Commissioner of A Ward Ujwal Ingole, along with officials from the maintenance, engineering, licensing and encroachment removal departments, also took part in the inspection.
The operation was carried out on the directions of Additional Municipal Commissioner, City, Prajakta Verma Lavangare, and under Jadhav’s guidance. It forms part of the Pedestrian First campaign envisioned by Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, under which the civic body is reviewing footpath conditions and access in several parts of Mumbai.
Five sub-inspectors and 10 police personnel from the Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg Police Station were deployed during Thursday’s action to provide security, the BMC said. The civic body did not provide details in the supplied report on notices issued to stall operators, enforcement against repeat encroachments or arrangements for affected vendors.
Bhide also inspected several locations across Mumbai on Wednesday and directed civic officials to clear footpaths of encroachments, improve pedestrian access and strengthen road-cleanliness measures. The inspections covered footpath conditions, waste collection arrangements and road maintenance in Worli and Santacruz, as well as facilities at Dr VN Shirodkar Maternity Hospital.
The locations reviewed included GL Loader Chowky on Senapati Bapat Marg, Adarsh Nagar Road in Worli, Tilak Road and Mahatma Gandhi Road in Santacruz West, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Vile Parle station road.
The BMC also plans to relocate 89 authorised shops near Santacruz in connection with road widening, according to the report. The supplied information does not specify the relocation site, schedule or terms for those shops. Further action under the Pedestrian First campaign is expected to follow inspections and directions issued by civic officials.
