After Elphinstone Road stampede, hawkers at Mumbai’s railway stations to be evicted

The railways has asked GRP and RPF officials to click photos from their mobile phones of hawkers on foot overbridges

The railways has instructed the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Police Force (RPF) to help evict hawkers from stations on the suburban network.

Twenty-three people were killed and 59 others were injured in Elphinstone Road bridge stampede. (File)

After the Elphinstone Road station stampede in which 23 people were killed and 59 others were injured, opposition parties and the Shiv Sena, an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in the state, have demanded that illegal hawkers be removed from stations to ease commuters’ movement.

The railways has asked GRP and RPF officials to click photos from their mobile phones of hawkers on foot overbridges. “The railways has also sent a notification to the GRP and RPF to maintain calls records and information about illegal hawkers given to them by railway officials,” an official said.

According to a senior GRP official, action will be taken against illegal hawkers under sections of the Maharashtra (Bombay) Police Act, which allows the police to fine them for creating nuisance in public.

Though action against hawkers is undertaken on a regular basis, they return to stations and block exit and entry points. The letter dated October 6 also directs the GRP to detain beggars.

“The photos clicked by the officials will help in identifying hawkers who return to stations. A register will also be maintained to prevent hawkers from returning to stations,” said Machindra Chavan, assistant commissioner of GRP (central region).