December 4, 2025: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s T ward carried out a major removal drive against unauthorised hawkers in Mulund on Wednesday, a day after two clashes were reported between residents and hawkers over repeated encroachments on public spaces. Officials cleared more than 50 illegal stalls from the Mulund market area and adjoining arterial stretches.
On Tuesday, altercations broke out on RRT Road, Ganesh Gawde Road, and Walji Raja Road, where residents alleged they were verbally abused and intimidated after objecting to the growing encroachments. Two police complaints were filed by citizens who said they had been flagging the issue for over two years.
Nirmal Thakkar, a Mulund resident, member of the citizens’ group Jagrut Mulundka,r and one of the complainants, said, “After the two incidents on Tuesday, we also approached the DCP, who assured us that action will be taken against hawkers who are threatening residents.”
Residents have expressed concern that hawkers have increasingly taken over footpaths and important junctions, leading to congestion and difficulties for pedestrians. In a letter submitted to the civic body earlier this year, resident Sharad Sejpal wrote, “For years hawkers have been selling on the roadside, but in recent months they have taken things to the extreme. They have encroached on sidewalks and set up bases at every junction. Pregnant women, the elderly, schoolchildren and all Mulundkars are struggling to walk and drive. Traffic problems are increasing. Is this acceptable?”
Sejpal further urged the BMC to act, writing, “These hawkers should be removed from all road corners in Mulund as soon as possible. These junctions must be cleared, and hawkers shifted some distance away so that residents can get permanent relief from this problem.”
Wednesday’s enforcement drive marks the civic body’s latest effort to address long-standing public complaints and restore movement along key stretches in Mulund.
Source: Mid-day
