End of an era: Mithibai ‘khau galli’ to make way for metro station

The vendors, served eviction notices by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on November 14, have been told to dismantle their stalls within seven days or face demolition. According to civic officials, a joint survey by MMRDA and BMC found that the 12 stalls fall directly within the alignment earmarked for the new station

MUMBAI: They say the dosas at the Mithibai khau galli, especially the ‘Jinni Dosa’, are to die for. These dosas and other signature delicacies are staple fare for students from the college complex, local residents and hungry passersby drawn in by the irresistible aromas wafting from street food stalls along Gulmohar Road in Vile Parle west. Not for much longer, though.

iMumbai, India - November 19, 2025: A view of the stalls out side Mithibhai collage at Vile Parle in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, November 19 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

All 12 stalls, most of them here for decades, will soon be a casualty of a metro station to be built here for the new Metro Line 2B, linking D N Nagar in Andheri west with Mandale in Mankhurd.

The vendors, served eviction notices by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on November 14, have been told to dismantle their stalls within seven days or face demolition. According to civic officials, a joint survey by MMRDA and BMC found that the 12 stalls fall directly within the alignment earmarked for the new station.

Chakrapani Alle, assistant commissioner, K west ward said, “There are high court directions that the stalls fall within 100 metres of educational institutions. In addition, they are violating all norms relating to stalls allotted to hawkers. The Metro 2B station is also in that area.”

During recent inspections, civic officials observed several violations, including on-site food preparation at stalls designated solely as Aarey units; discharge of cooking waste into stormwater drains; and stalls exceeding the dimensions specified by the Aarey Dairy’s 2005 circular. BMC officials said repeated warnings and prior enforcement actions had failed to curb these practices.

The hawkers on this stretch have also been the subject of legal disputes. In cases filed by the Janhit Manch and Shri Vile Parle Kelvani Mandal (SVKM), the Bombay High Court had ruled in 2015 that vendors cooking or preparing food on public streets or footpaths, such as the ones in the Mithibai College kahu galli, cannot claim protection under the Street Vendors Act.

In its notice to the hawkers, the BMC referenced a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that banned hawking within 100 metres of educational institutions and hospitals. Since Gulmohar Road lies within the restricted radius of Cooper Hospital and the SVKM educational campus, the stalls are in breach of the order. The BMC also noted that the vendors lacked licences required under Section 313 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act of 1888.

Over the years, local residents have filed numerous complaints against these vendors, alleging traffic obstructions, unsafe cooking practices and stormwater drain blockages caused by the dumping of food waste. Now, with a new metro station being built here, Gulmohar Road will never be the same – no street-food stalls, and none of the flavour they once lent the street.