Hawkers in Pune paint the town pink ahead of Swachh Sarvekshan

The hawkers came together after the civic body’s encroachment department met with hawkers across the city and insisted on a uniform colour and size for sheds; and dustbins outside every shop

At least 22 registered hawkers collaborated with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to beautify the hawking zone at Dnyneshwar Paduka chowk, Shivajinagar, prior to the inspection by the central government’s Swachh Sarvekshan team.

At least 22 registered hawkers collaborated with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to beautify the hawking zone at Dnyneshwar Paduka chowk, Shivajinagar. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)

The city’s hawking zones are to be inspected for cleanliness and uniformity.

The hawkers came together after the civic body’s encroachment department met with hawkers across the city and insisted on a uniform colour and size for sheds; and dustbins outside every shop.

Hawkers have now painted the shutters pink to give the market uniformity.

Vijay Jagtap, one of the traders who painted his shop, said, “The officials told that this will make the market more appealing and also give it uniformity. We will soon install dustbins outside the shops and ensure that traders do not encroach the footpaths.”

“We focused on this market first, since it is close to FC road and JM road. We think the inspection team is likely to visit areas close to prominent city hotspots. This is just a pilot project and we will now get in touch with the other market representatives too and ensure that they get this done,” said an official from the PMC encroachment department, requesting anonymity.

There are 477 hawking zones in the city and the pilot project is being done only in one of the zones. The civic body will now ask other hawking zone associations to follow the Dnyaneshwar Paduka chowk model.