The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has intensified its drive against unauthorised hawkers in areas surrounding Dadar railway station, aiming to restore pedestrian access on busy footpaths and roads in the neighbourhood.
Over the past two months, the civic body’s licence department has removed thousands of illegal street vendors operating on pavements west of the station, allowing pedestrians to reclaim public walking spaces that had long been obstructed.
Several major arterial roads have now been cleared of encroachments, including NC Kelkar Road—from Dr Antonio Da Silva School to Plaza Cinema and up to Shiv Sena Bhavan—Ranade Road between Nakshatra Mall and Shushrusha Hospital, and Bhavani Shankar Road near Kabutarkhana Circle leading toward Prabhadevi railway station.
In addition to these main stretches, the civic body also cleared encroachments from smaller roads such as Dr Antonio Da Silva Road, Jawale Road, Chabildas Road, Vachanalay Road and Akshikar Road, all located in the western precincts of Dadar.
The action against unauthorised hawkers initially began in June and July 2025, during which more than 5,000 vendors were removed. The drive was temporarily halted with the onset of the festive season starting with Ganeshotsav, before being resumed in January 2026.
City mayor Ritu Tawde had earlier highlighted pedestrian-friendly infrastructure and the removal of illegal hawkers as key priorities while outlining her agenda after assuming office in February.
“Thousands of unauthorised hawkers have been removed. We will continue taking action. To take the concept of creating an uninterrupted walkway forward, we have planned a survey of licensed hawkers who have created permanent or semi-permanent structures on the footpath.
We will then figure out which is the nearest road where they can be moved in a cluster. Several shops that have protruding tin roofs or displays covering footpaths will be standardised in the next stage,” said Vinayak Vispute.
Officials say the civic body plans to continue monitoring the area to ensure footpaths remain accessible for pedestrians while also reviewing relocation options for licensed hawkers.
Source: Mid-day
