The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has removed 92 unauthorised stalls and acted against a 750-square-foot warehouse in the Sabu Siddik Road, Musafirkhana and Manish Market areas of South Mumbai under its “Pedestrian First” campaign.
The operation was carried out by the BMC’s Maintenance and Encroachment Removal Department in A Ward. Civic officials removed temporary and permanent structures made from tarpaulin sheets, bamboo, iron pipes and metal sheets, as well as permanent iron stalls and other unauthorised constructions.
The drive followed an inspection of Sabu Siddik Road and the Musafirkhana area on Tuesday, October 13, by Deputy Municipal Commissioner Chanda Jadhav, elected public representatives, A Ward Assistant Commissioner Ujwal Ingole and officials from the maintenance, licensing and encroachment removal departments. The civic action was initiated after directions issued during that visit.
The campaign has been envisioned by Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide. The operation was conducted on the orders of Additional Municipal Commissioner, City, Prajakta Verma Lavangare, and under the guidance of Jadhav, who oversees Zone 1. The action places pedestrian access at the centre of enforcement in one of the city’s most congested commercial districts.
Police personnel were deployed during the demolition drive to maintain law and order. The Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg Police Station provided three police inspectors, three sub-inspectors and 30 police personnel for the operation.
The BMC’s action is part of a wider effort to clear encroachments from public spaces and improve access along footpaths. The civic body has also been coordinating with its education department and ward offices to address encroachments outside municipal school buildings.
Over the past month and a half, the education department asked officials to survey 436 civic school buildings across Mumbai’s western suburbs, eastern suburbs and the city for footpath encroachments. According to the information reported by building in-charge and administrative officers, 184 schools said the issues had been resolved, while 123 reported that concerns remained unresolved. Another 129 schools had not provided information on footpath encroachments.
The school survey indicates that the removal of individual structures is only one part of the BMC’s pedestrian-access campaign. Its implementation also depends on ward-level inspections, coordination between civic departments and follow-up at locations where encroachments remain unresolved. The latest South Mumbai drive was conducted by A Ward officials and workers under the civic body’s ongoing campaign.
