hawkers – The Metrognome

Dear BMC Commissioner, no hawkers please!

There’s a chance that 1 lakh hawkers will be added to Mumbai’s streets very soon. Retailers’ body will oppose it.

Two days ago, the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) wrote to BMC chief Sitaram Kunte protesting against the upcoming Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Bill, 2012, which is to come into effect once cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

As per the letter, the FRTWA is determined to protest the passing of the Bill on grounds that it will add more hawkers to the roads without clarity on who will regulate their working. Produced below is the full text of the letter written by Viren Shah (in pic on left), President, FRTWA:

“To The BMC Commissioner,

Mumbai

The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012 will come into effect once cleared by Rajya Sabha.

Presently, the city has between 1.5 lakh and 2 lakh hawkers, including unlicensed ones. The Act is expected to add on another 1 lakh hawkers who will spill onto the city’s pavements. Estimates have it that the number of hawkers will be 2.5% of the population.

Considering the latest census, which has pegged the city’s populace at 1.25 crore, the city will have 3.13 lakh hawkers.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has appointed a two-member committee to study the current hawking situation and come up with solutions which can be implemented as pilot projects in the city.

These experts will conduct street surveys and spatial studies for a holistic solution which can be implemented for the pilot projects. A work order for the study was issued last week. Dadar and Vile Parle have been earmarked as probable areas to conduct the pilot project study. Work on the survey is expected to start shortly after a meeting of civic officials scheduled for next week.

FRTWA strongly objects to this new policy whereby these two members who are going to make 1 lakh hawkers legal and they will be placed through out mumbais market and public places,stations,schools,hospitals which is going to be against the supreme court guidelines.

Who will regulate them? BMC AND POLICE?

Even now these illegal hawkers are not under any control and the way they have spread their wings in sizes and width, they have not only occupied pedestrian footpaths but also parts of roads in many busy areas of Mumbai and that too main roads like Linking road, Crawford market and most of the station ares of Mumbai where pedestrians have no footpath to walk, vehicles have no road to drive on and shopkeepers have no entrance for their customers to enter the shops.

We strongly object to such a policy whereby two members are going to give licenses to one lakh hawkers and Mumbai will become hawking zone.

These hawkers do not pay taxes, get goods without any license, without paying any octroi or VAT and neither they pay any income tax.

Why do we tax paying citizens bear their burden and allow these illegal hawkers to occupy our pedestrians footpath, roads and shop windows and entrances of shops without any tax to the Government?

We will approach the Supreme Court if such policy is passed by Rajya sabha.

We will not allow hawkers in front of our shops in Mumbai.

Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA)

Viren shah
President

(Pictures courtesy www.nscimumbai.com, www.wildjunket.com, www.dnaindia.com. Hawkers’ images used for representational purpose only)

Dhoble transfer issue hots up

Public support for recently-transferred cop increases daily; if probe absolves Dhoble of wrongdoing, he might be reinstated as ACP, Vakola.

by the Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Vasant Dhoble is one lucky man. Transferred by the Chief Minister following the death of a hawker during a hawker eviction drive last week in the suburbs, the controversial cop is receiving tremendous support from all quarters – most recently from the Congress’ ally in the State, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Yesterday, NCP leader and State Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had jokingly agreed to support CM Prithviraj Chavan’s decision to transfer Dhoble from Vakola to the police control room following the hawker’s death – the post mortem report reveals he died of a brain haemorrhage, and not of cardiac arrest, as originally surmised – but today, Pawar took a different line altogether. “We should not transfer a person wrongly,” he said. “If the probe (initiated into the incident by the Home Department) does not show that Dhoble was responsible (for the hawker’s death), he will be reinstated with immediate effect,” he added.

Interestingly, Home Department chief RR Patil, who also belongs to the NCP, had said yesterday that the decision to transfer Dhoble was a welcome one, since it would “help in an impartial probe’.

Meanwhile, the rabble-rousing cop himself has chosen to keep a low profile since his transfer, refusing to comment even on the support from such parties as the Shiv Sena and the MNS, which surprised all by actually uniting over the issue of his transfer.

‘Bring him back’

Residents and local corporators of the area under Dhoble’s purview as ACP have reacted strongly to the cop’s transfer. This morning, two separate ALMs in Vile Parle had initiated signature campaigns in support of Dhoble. The signatures are to submitted to the Chief Minister. “We are extremely pleased with his performance as a cop in our area,” said Vile Parle resident Rohini Gupte (53). “I have lived in Vile Parle all my life, and after Dhoble came here and started cracking down on illegal hawkers, we saw the footpaths on our streets for the first time. It is wrong to transfer a police officer who is doing his job for the betterment of an area.”

Senior citizens, especially, profess to be more than satisfied with Dhoble’s stint as ACP. “Even before, when he was posted at Goregaon, he was very popular with the local residents because he came down very heavily on wrong activities,” said MS Prakash (69). “If a police officer is carrying out his duties and he gets punished for it, then why should the police do any work at all? I strongly feel that the Government should reconsider and bring him back, instead of deputing him to some ordinary post.”

(Picture courtesy intoday.in)