BMC to ask Dadar fish vendors to shift to Mulund; fisherfolk ready to oppose the move

An official from the BMC’s market department said that last week in a meeting of civic officials including the additional municipal commissioner (AMC) Vipin Sharma, they decided to offer temporary accommodation to the fisherfolk

MUMBAI: To ease traffic congestion along the Senapati Bapat Marg and clear the deadlock between Dadar residents and wholesale fish vendors, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to relocate the fisherfolk to the Airoli Toll Plaza at Mulund. While notices will soon be sent to the 36 fisherfolk along the busy road, they are gearing up to oppose the move.

BMC to ask Dadar fish vendors to shift to Mulund; fisherfolk ready to oppose the move

An official from the BMC’s market department said that last week in a meeting of civic officials including the additional municipal commissioner (AMC) Vipin Sharma, they decided to offer temporary accommodation to the fisherfolk. However, notices have not been issued since the AMC is yet to give his formal approval.

“The fisherfolk bring their trucks on the Senapati Bapat Marg in the dead of night, and then sell their wares in the middle of the road till 10am and even till noon,” said Chetan Kamble, founder of Chakachak Dadar, a resident welfare organisation, and a resident of Swarajya Cooperative Housing Society (CHS), which has been demanding the relocation of the fisherfolk.

“Especially after the Elphinstone bridge closure, traffic has become a severe issue. When we heard the fish vendors were being allowed in the enclosed space once again, we protested and have been following up the matter,” Kamble added.

However, the fisherfolk are attached to their ‘prime spot’ at Dadar. The vendors had, in 2021 gotten a notice from the BMC telling them that their permanent spot at the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai is still under construction, and will only be ready by April 2026. Instead, they were offered a temporary spot in the Airoli Toll Plaza in Mulund, where the civic body said it had made arrangements about the electricity and washroom facilities.

Instead, the fish vendors approached the Bombay High Court, and were granted permission to continue selling fish at their spot along the Senapati Bapat Road till their permanent fish market is ready.

Kanchan Rukmini, one of the fish vendors, said, “We went to the Bombay High Court against that notice, and even the Court said no to our shifting there. There’s no reason we will shift there now. We refuse to shift to even Wadala, which was another alternative suggested. It is our court-given right to stay here in this spot till our permanent market opens up.”