PUNE: Unauthorised hawkers in the last two months have completely encroached upon the
MG Road and
East Street
pavements, forcing pedestrians to walk on the main road braving the heavy traffic.
Activists and citizens said though the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) had taken an aggressive stand two months ago to remove the hawkers, it has clearly not yielded any result.
"The PCB should come up with a foolproof system to tackle the issue," said
Darshan Chawla
, a shopkeeper on MG Road, and a cantonment resident. The hawkers have set up stalls on pavements, forcing pedestrians to walk on the main road through the chaotic traffic. Cantonment residents said the hawkers have set up stalls on other roads too.
"On MG Road, the situation is worse. Vehicles are parked on both sides and there are hawkers on pavements. There is not enough carriage width on the road to drive a vehicle," said
Sandesh Kulkarni, a regular commuter.
Another shopkeeper H Gazebo said even if the hawkers display their wares in front of their shops, they cannot act against them, as they are using the cantonment land. "Unless the cantonment acts against them, the problem will remain unresolved," he said.
The MG Road and East Street connect the cantonment limits with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits. Hence, the volume of vehicular traffic is more compared to any other street in the cantonment.
Subrat Pal
, the chief executive officer of PCB, conceded that MG Road and East Street have become congested zones because of large number of illegal hawkers.
"Our past anti-hawker drives have proved ineffective. We are now framing a comprehensive plan to address the issue. We will need support from the police to conduct the drive, as it has become a nightmare for them to manage traffic in these areas," Pal told TOI on Wednesday.
Advocate
MV Akolkar
, the president of MG Road Pathari Sanghatna, said the cantonment should look at the issue rationally.
"It should not act against hawkers, as these are poor people and they do not have any other source of livelihood. There are vacant land pockets in the cantonment limits. The board authorities should allow the hawkers to operate there. The board can charge fees from them. This would be a win-win situation for the hawkers and the board," Akolkar said.
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