The courts have proclaimed that every area in Mumbai is grappling with the illegal hawker menace, with practically no corner of the city left open.

Mumbaikars have witnessed decades of skipping warily over hawkers’ goods on pavements. Crowded into spaces and forced to wend their way on narrow lanes because the hawker has taken away walking space. Pedestrians putting their lives at risk as vehicles pass literally a hair’s breadth away and vehicles are within touching distance. They are forced to walk on the roads as illegal stalls and hawkers have mushroomed.