Mumbai: Colaba Causeway gets quick clean-up thanks to VVIP movement, locals want them to come everyday

Colaba streets were cleared of hawkers, stalls on Wednesday evening

Rebels with a Cause-way - is what the activists who are fighting for a clean Colaba, bereft of illegal hawkers, especially on the crowded causeway, may be called. These activists, who are a vocal and vital part of several meetings with different authorities and SoBo bodies advocating for a solution to the hawking proliferation at the strip, have witnessed a familiar pattern since Wednesday (December 5) evening.

The shoppers paradise that has completely taken over the pavement in the Colaba area, with sellers and their wares routinely spilling out, was cleared of hawkers, and the stalls all packed up on Wednesday evening itself.

Subhash Motwani, a resident of Colaba, said, "This area was quickly cleaned up. For some hours, people could actually walk on the Colaba Causeway. This shows that where there is a will, there is a way. Make that, where there is VIP, there is a way."

For years now, the growing number of hawkers on the Colaba Causeway has been a huge concern for locals. Residents have stated that it is important that everybody has a livelihood, but there has to be some balance and a solution. There have been a plethora of meetings with different political representatives and leaders about making the causeway pedestrian-friendly or accessible for walking.

Suggestions through the years have revolved around making a good-looking shopping plaza at the BEST depot in Colaba. However, as this did not materialise, locals and different organisations working for Colaba upkeep told leaders that one can have a hawking plaza on the pavement outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), formerly the Prince of Wales Museum. However, this, too, has not fructified. Pervez Cooper, another resident who is at the forefront of numerous initiatives in Colaba, said, "Come to this area on an ordinary day and see how the hawkers have now proliferated into inside lanes. Is it possible for people to walk here? In fact, our VIPs should try to walk on the causeway on a regular day."

In April 2024, the shopping strip was also cleaned out in a zoom, vroom pattern when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the city for the Reserve Bank of India's 90th anniversary. Cooper said sarcastically, "If you cannot have a VIP passing through here every single day, I suggest the PM move into an office in this area. This will ensure an encroachment-free causeway."

The Bombay High Court had last month observed that there is not a single lane in Mumbai that is free from hawkers. At that time, a division bench of Justices A Gadkari and K Khata had said the entire city was encroached by illegal hawkers, making it difficult for the citizens to walk freely.