The Times of India  29.11.2010

MUMBAI: The city's western waterfront may sport a clean look for the next few days with the BMC on Monday initiating a massive demolition drive against unauthorized food stalls along the coastline, including Juhu beach and areas in Bandra, Khar and Khar Danda.

The civic squad razed and evicted around 379 stalls and hawkers from the sea shores, in the process, collecting a hefty fine of over Rs 6 lakh. The biggest action was reserved for Juhu beach, where apart from the 148 stalls, which have Bombay high court permission, everything else was demolished. "The shops produce the maximum waste that is being dumped around the beach. Therefore, we decided to take action against them," said deputy municipal commissioner R Bhosle.

After the Juhu Citizens' Welfare Group ( JCWG) approached the Bombay HC in 2002 with their beautification plan, the court had ordered immediate eviction of encroachers from the beach. Since then, a handful of residents if the area have been struggling to keep the sea shore clean and free of squatters. While the court had directed the BMC to ensure that the beach was not encroached upon again, the civic body could do little to prevent it, in the absence of effective surveillance. "We evicted hundreds of illegal hawkers two years ago from Juhu, but reappeared last year," a civic official said.

The BMC's drive, which will continue for another two days, was conducted by a team of 200 personnel, who had 64 vehicles and dumpers at their disposal. and around 200 officials.