Pune Municipal Corporation takes action against 751 illegal hawkers in the city

The PMC has formed special teams in the anti-encroachment department in the PMC dedicated to keep a strict watch on these hawkers

In a crackdown against the illegal hawkers in the city, the Pune Municipal corporation (PMC) conducted a drive from December 20, 2018 to January 2 and have taken action against 751 illegal hawkers who are unwilling to shift to the hawkers’ zones. PMC has created zones in all the 15 wards of the city where a total of 1,000 places have been identified for the hawkers.

Illegal hawkers are spotted outside garment shops on Tilak road. According to the guidelines issued by the Pune Municipal Corporation hawkers or small food stalls cannot be set up in the space outside established shops. (HT/PHOTO)

Madhav Jagtap PMC’s anti-encroachment department chief said, “PMC had identified a total of 1,000 spaces for the hawkers. 7,000 hawkers out of the total 15, 000 in the city have already been alloted the space by the civic body and the remaining work is in progress and is expected to be over soon. However, the hawkers were bound to face actions by the city administration if found violating the given guidelines”.

He further added, “We had asked all the hawkers specifically to operate in the spaces that were allotted to them. We had issued a warning as well. However, many of them have turned a deaf ear to our directions.Consequently, we have taken actions against 751 hawkers by imposing fines on them and confiscating their stalls.”

According to Jagtap, the PMC has formed special teams in the anti-encroachment department in the PMC dedicated to keep a strict watch on these hawkers. He added, “All the ward officers and other officials in every ward across the city have been given strict instructions to monitor the developments in this regard and take necessary actions”.