Linking Road hawkers take poll advantage

Residents of Linking Road in Khar have alleged that the election code of conduct has been violated by a local politician.

“Mobile hawkers have started entering the bylanes. We have heard a local politician telling BMC officials not to take action against them. Their numbers have gone up drastically,” said Ranjana Barve, a resident.

A delegation of residents went to the H (west) ward office on Monday last week to protest against violation of the code of conduct in their ward.

“There is no surveillance nor any action by the BMC. The bureaucracy has knelt before local politicians,” said Aftab Siddiqui, a local activist.

“The irony is that the hawkers have been assured that nothing will happen to them. We have been agitating to have them removed,” said Barve.

According to the residents, on Monday, the Khar police have assured them that a special squad will be deployed by the police to get rid of hawkers on Linking Road.

When S Murgundkar, acting ward officer, was contacted, he said, “One vehicle is posted on Linking Road to take care of the problem. I am inspecting from time to time and taking repeated action on unauthorised activities.”