# Licensed hawkers may use footpaths but not block them 2026-08-18T02:02:46+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet BMC commissioner Ashwini Bhide on Monday said licensed hawkers can use footpaths for business, provided they do not obstruct pedestrian movement. She spoke after visiting parts of south Mumbai during the civic body's 'Pedestrian First' campaign, where she checked licences and directed the licensing department to act against violators. Bhide's statement comes days after corporators from across parties criticised the BMC's anti-encroachment drive against licensed hawkers with QR-coded ID cards. Civic officers denied that the directives followed political pressure, insisting action was always against unauthorised hawkers and those encroaching beyond their allotted space. Residents welcomed the campaign. Dhaval Shah of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Forum said it should be handed to the central flying squad to prevent tip-offs. Chembur resident Kala Suresh urged its extension to all wards. Of 99,435 registered street vendors, 57,697 have been issued QR-coded IDs, 3,950 have died and 37,788 could not be contacted. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Ashwini Bhide, BMC, Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Forum, Mumbai Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/licensed-hawkers-may-use-footpaths-but-not-block-them/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/licensed-hawkers-may-use-footpaths-but-not-block-them/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/