Both developer, residents want cobbler's stall shifted from footpath

Elite Housing developers want his stall shifted from the footpath in front of the building's main entrance; Zoroastrian Colony says residents will be inconvenienced if it is placed on their footpath

Forty-seven-year-old Tardeo-based cobbler Dashrat Mane's fate hangs in balance right in between the Zoroastrian Colony and Elite Housing, a new project that has come up in the area. While the developers of the new housing society want Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to shift the cobbler's stall from its current location – in front of the building's main entrance, residents of the Zoroastrian Colony on the next footpath are opposed to the civic body's plan of temporarily shifting it next to their entrance. They feel the colony's senior citizens would face problems in walking on the already-narrow footpath.

Narrow footpath
Polly Nagwaswalla, a resident of the colony said two of the buildings' entrance was on the footpath close to the main gate. "If the cobbler is shifted to this footpath, then the stall will have to be placed between the main gate and the entrance of the two buildings. This will create problems for pedestrians. Senior citizens residing in the colony usually walk on the footpath. If the stall is shifted there then they'll be forced to walk on the road," said Nagwaswalla.

The cobbler's stall currently stands in front of the Elite Housing's main gate (top), While the BMC plans to shift it to the footpath of the Zoroastrian Colony. Pics/Bipin Kokate

Another resident, Rumy Zarir said the construction of Elite Housing posed problems for them earlier as well. "Large pieces of debris used to fall on the access road inside the colony. As it was dangerous, we stopped parking our vehicles on the stretch. Now they want to move the cobbler, who sits in one corner of the footpath," he said. He added that he had approached the D ward office with their grievances on December 17 but haven't got a response since then.

Expressing his unwillingness to move from the spot, where his shop has been standing for the past 70 years, Mane said, "Earlier, my father used to run the stall, which I took over later. My family is dependent on me and this is my only source of income. If they force me to move out of here, then I'll lose my business." After the Elite Housing developers approached BMC, in an order issued on December 18, Deputy Municipal Commissioner Harshad Kale said that Mane would be shifted to a different location, as the stall was on the entry/exit path of the new society. The order further stated that the stall was located within 100 metres of Bhatia Hospital, which is against the hawking norms.

Dashrat Mane

No-hawking zone
Mane, however, alleged that the BMC was targetting him. "There is a whole line of eateries and hawkers right next to the entrance of Bhatia Hospital. According to BMC's calculations, my stall is 92 metres away from the hospital. After 70 years, the civic body has realised that it was a no-hawking zone?" he added.

Agreeing on the fact that there were other hawkers near the hospital, Assistant Municipal Commissioner Vishwas Mote said that action had been taken against them on various instances. "The hawkers are running their stalls illegally in the area. We have removed them many times but they manage to come back. As the cobbler has a licenced stall, we will follow the due course of law and ensure that his business is not affected," said Mote.

'Not our decision'
When contacted, Manohar Pendurkar, liaison officer with Elite Housing developers said, "The building proposal department had passed our plan, which included the gates as well. When we asked the officials about the shop, they said that the ward office would shift the cobbler's stall once our work was completed. We did not ask the BMC to shift the shop to Zoroastrian colony's) footpath. It was the deputy municipal commissioner's decision."

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