Mumbai: The central railway signed has an in-principle approval with the civic body on Monday to coordinate in the process of removing hawkers who encroach on railway premises. The civic body has given instructions to their ward officers to remove the hawkers, who encroach on Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) areas.
On Monday, a follow-up meeting was conducted between the divisional railway managers of both central and western railways and the commissioner of the civic body. The meeting was conducted in order to find a solution to remove hawkers who encroach on railway premises.
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The state government had recently issued a circular, stating that no hawkers would be allowed to encroach on areas up to 150 meters around the railway station premises. “‘Hawker free zone’ boards will also be put up by the civic body to ensure that no hawkers encroach the railway premises,” said a senior central railway official.
A joint anti-hawkers drive would be conducted by both Railway Protection Staff (RPF) and ward officers of the civic body in order to remove hawkers both from inside the station premises and the civic body areas. “All the 24 wards of the civic body have been given instructions to conduct the anti-hawkers drive in their areas. The coordination between the railways and civic body would ensure a ‘hawker free zone’. The civic body has already doubled the fine amount to deter the hawkers from hawking in the railway premises,” said the official.
Railway officials are also planning to prepare a database of hawkers who are prosecuted for hawking on the railway premises. “This would help the concerned departments to take stringent action against the hawkers who have repeatedly been found hawking on the railway premises,” added the official.
