A fresh controversy has erupted after Central Railway reportedly moved ahead with a plan to allow hawkers inside Mumbai’s suburban local trains, raising concerns among daily commuters already grappling with severe overcrowding.
The passengers already face the daily challenge of navigating overcrowded trains during peak hours. Therefore, granting licences to hawkers, intended to formalise the informal economy within the railway system, has been met with scepticism from the very commuters it aims to benefit.
According to a Lokmat Times report, authorities have approved around 100 licensed vendors to operate across both the Main and Harbour lines. A similar proposal in 2023 had faced strong resistance from commuter groups, prompting officials to scrap the plan at the time. However, the scheme now appears to have been revived, with the tender process allegedly completed without consultation with passenger associations. Documents accessed by media organisations indicate that the plan is already underway.
As per the details, a private agency has been awarded a three-year contract to run vending services on trains operating between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Kalyan, as well as on the Harbour line. Under the arrangement, 100 authorised vendors, 50 on each corridor, will be allowed to sell both consumable and non-consumable items inside train compartments.
The documentation also specifies strict eligibility norms, including Aadhaar verification, police clearance, medical certification, and issuance of official identity cards. The level of procedural detail suggests that the implementation of the scheme is at an advanced stage.
Footpath encroachment continues in Dadar despite BMC`s anti-hawker drive
Despite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) clearing thousands of unauthorised hawkers from Dadar Market in a special drive in March, when mid-day went to take a look at the site twice over the last weekend, on March 6 and 8, these vendors could be seen plying their trade on footpaths for most hours of the day.
According to multiple residents and business owners from the area, hawkers have abandoned rigid setups/structures and remain agile with their sacks. They leave their spots and flee easily as soon as the authorities arrive to take action.
Issue persists due to lack of…
>> Active patrolling by the municipal corporation
>> Large on-the-spot fines imposed by civic body
>> Sufficient police force
Locals’ Voices
‘The problem has reached these heights because the BMC has time and again failed to take sustained action against hawkers’
Vaibhav Rege, secretary, Shivaji Park ALM
‘There’s a synergy of hawkers, the shops they stand ahead of on the footpaths, the buyers who find them convenient and the authorities who are supposed to act against them. This is what makes them indispensable, and this menace almost impossible to eradicate’
Ravi, Dadar resident
What locals sugget
>> Daylong patrolling by special BMC and reserve police teams
>> Alternative zones for hawkers to operate.
