Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor and other Bollywood A-listers who live in Mumbai’s affluent Pali Hill district took to their streets on Sunday April 12 to protest against a proposal by the local municipal body that will permit hawkers to peddle their wares and food on footpaths in the neighbourhhood, ndtv.com reported on April 13.
“It makes no sense for hawkers to be allowed in Pali Hill,” said Kapoor, 62. “This will only inconvenience us. There is enough traffic already, cars are parked on both sides of the road – where is the space for hawkers? It’s not a commercial zone, it’s a residential zone.”
The actor participated in a silent protest on Sunday alongside other residents including actors Dilip Kumar, Prem Chopra and Emraan Hashmi.
If the proposal is accepted, “2,000 hawkers will set up shop along 50 pavements”, but residents claim some of these footpaths only exist on paper. It is part of Mumbai Development Plan 2034, a new draft that includes roads cutting through private residential properties and gardens in Pali Hill.
“There has been zero application of mind,” Madhu Poplai, secretary of the Pali Hill Residents Association, told the NDTV channel. “No one has visited the site. Decisions have been taken based on satellite images.”
Plan 2034 is currently under review by a committee set up by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
artslife@thenational.ae
