The drive that I have started of evicting hawkers from within 250 meters of railway stations has been quite successful. We have covered almost all stations on both Western and Central railway corridors. Jogeshwari seemed difficult, but we succeeded in removing all hawkers from one side of the approach road to the station two days ago. Now the drive will shift into a higher gear. There shall be no compromises on our part now. But that doesn't mean that I have no sympathy for the people who are being evicted. I have instructed my Ward Officers to accommodate evicted hawkers beyond the 250 meter limit and at Ghatkopar, Mulund, Chembur, Santa Cruz and Bandra we have already completed their resettlement.

Some people have accused the BMC of being over-aggressive. They forget that it was a Supreme Court order that asked the BMC to keep areas surrounding railway stationsfree of hawkers. We are only implementing the order. The civic administration is not against hawkers as such, but residents of Mumbai are our priority. For far too long Mumbaiites have tolerated this nuisance. For far too long hawkers' organised unions have been able to stifle popular opinion. Not any longer. The law will take its course and Mumbai will get its roads back.

As long as I am in charge, it will be made sure that the drive does not lose its steam. We have sought the help of police too. They will make sure that the hawkers don't return. But the biggest deterrent will be the Rs 10,000 fine we have decided to impose on those who do.

Though the hawkers unions would like us to believe that they are united, my experience has been different. I have received reports of hawkers meeting officers, individually and in small groups, seeking a compromise. They do not want trouble. Be it in Dadar, or elsewhere. And even if they were united, their threats would not have deterred me.

In Dadar, hawkers havecreated parallel markets. It is not as if we are not taking action there because of any bias or because it is the CM's constituency. We are only waiting for the plan for Hawkers' Plaza to materialise. That's our priority now. The work order has already been issued. Although we have not touched hawkers occupying pavements in Dadar, we cleared the approach road to Kohinoor theatre a few days back. Three days back a lady told me that it was impossible for women to walk on that road. That set me off. I immediately ordered the hawkers squatting on the road to be removed. Pavements are meant for pedestrians and I shall see to it that they are cleared for them. Strict action will also be taken against erring BMC officials of the licence department as well as Ward Officers if they fail in their duty.

And while we restore Mumbai's roads and pavements to its people, I intend to go whole hog in implementing the hawking-zone plan. In fact, September 15 is the deadline we have set for ourselves. Problem areas are beingidentified and objections raised by some housing societies are being looked into. There are differences over the list of authorised hawkers - of course, our list is smaller than the unions' list. But, I am confident these differences can be sorted out. We will accommodate all the hawkers who had set up their stalls in Mumbai before 1989. Others are not our responsibility.

I have received several letters of appreciation sent to us by housewives and commuters. I know what I am doing is right and that's what keeps me going.

(Nandu Satam is the Mayor of Mumbai)