Borivli hawker menace: Will resume services soon on Borivli road cleared of hawkers, says BEST undertaking

Bhaji Market Gully near SV Road in Borivli West on December 11. Pic/Nimesh Dave

The BEST undertaking on Tuesday assured Borivli residents that bus services at Bhaji Market Gully, also known as court lane, in Borivli West would resume soon. The undertaking has stated it would shift to smaller electric or conventional models if the bigger Olectra Greentech buses do not fit on the road.

The R Central ward office had written to the undertaking, informing it that the lane outside Borivli railway station had been cleared of illegal hawkers and encroachments two weeks ago. Following this, since there was no development, Borivli residents wrote a letter to BEST demanding the restoration of bus routes at Bhaji Market Gully.

Bhaji Market Gully in Borivli West, a spot formerly encroached upon by illegal hawkers, on December 11. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Replying to the residents, H S Shetty, BEST Gorai Depot manager, wrote, "At present, buses on routes A-244, A246 and A-277 are operated by Gorai Depot via Chandavarkar Road, Borivli West, with 12-metre-long Olectra electric buses. Considering the length of these AC buses, it is essential to carry out a feasibility survey after which the viability of carrying out operations on the bus routes via market lane will be decided with the approval of the BEST management."

Meanwhile, BEST Public Relations Officer Sudas Sawant told mid-day, "Now that the road has been cleared of illegal hawkers and encroachments, there will be services on the routes in question on the court lane itself after the feasibility survey is done. If the new bigger Olectra AC buses do not fit on the road, we might shift to the smaller AC buses, which are often seen in Andheri, or to non-AC models but the plan to run buses via market lane will not be scrapped if the new bigger AC buses do not fit on the road."

Residents' letter

Shetty's reply was sent to Sudesh Naik, a Borivli resident who, in his letter to the Gorai Depot and BEST General Manager Anil Diggikar had written, "To date, bus services have not been restored at Borivli court lane. This is a request to ply bus nos. 244, 246 and 277 as this will ease congestion on the route that these buses utilise. This will also result in a reduction of travel time by at least three to five minutes and less fuel consumption. The Borivli police and BMC have been taking continuous action against illegal hawkers and encroachments on the road and vehicles have also started to ply court lane.

Giving a background of the issue, the letter stated, "As you may be aware, the Borivli West market road had been encroached upon by the vegetable and fruit vendors for many years. Such was the case that buses were unable to ply the stretch, resulting in the diversion of the routes to Chandavarkar Road. The market road issue has been highlighted in the press [mid-day] and the roads have been cleared of the hawkers by the BMC and police."

The letter also mentioned that resuming bus services would prevent unauthorised hawkers from returning to the spot. "The BMC and police have been doing their duty by continuously taking action against illegal hawkers. Now, if these vendors return, Borivli residents will blame the BEST as you have failed to restore services despite the other two agencies taking continuous action," the letter read.