Mumbaikars may have to walk the extra mile to buy their choicest fish if BMC’s hawkers policy comes into effect. While hawkers are already opposing the civic body’s decree, now city’s original residents are also fuming over the new domicile certificate criteria that has been thrust upon them. There are more than seven thousand fisherwomen (koli) who sell fish on BMC roads or footpath. The Koli community has been opposing the move saying they are the original residents of the city and should not be required to produce their domicile certificate to prove the same. There are more than 60 fish markets in the city and around 10 thousand fisher women who operate in these markets. There are about 40 markets in the gaonthan (village) areas, mostly on collector land and around 7,000 aid their families by selling fish in these markets that are unrecognised by the civic body. Many areas like Charkop don’t have any fish market and women here sell fish on the roadside or in the Charkop village market. If they fail to submit their domicile papers in time they will not get permission to conduct business, which in turn will affect the residents. “We don’t have any option other than to buy fish from the roadside ‘fish markets’. There are no planned legal fish or vegetable markets in this area,” said Ramchandra Parab, a resident of Charkop. “We are not supporting vendors who encroach on our roads and footpath. But due to non-execution of law from authority, pedestrians and buyers face problems daily,” he added. “Its an issue between the fisherwomen and the civic body, but we suffer. We had heard about various alteration being made to the hawkers’ policy. Don’t know when they will come to effect and how many of the changes they be accommodated finally. The authorities should first provide legal space to the se hawkers and then try to remove them, otherwise it will be the end consumers like us who will suffer,” said Sanjay Bhat, a resident of Kandivli. As per the Supreme Court order in 2014, BMC had started a process to implement the hawkers policy and conduct a survey of hawkers. Under this policy, 99,430 hawkers had submitted their forms to the BMC. After four years now, the state government made domicile certificates mandatory. Damodar Tandel, the president of the Akhil Maharashtra Machimar Kriti Samiti, said, “The civic body has data on fish markets and women who are selling fish in the goanthan area. Every now and then they conduct surveys and now they are asking for domicile certificates. There are more than 7,000 women who sell fish on roads and foothpath. What will they do if the BMC rejects their form? We have already suffered due to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Now they are coming up with the Coastal Road and a 300-acre central park at Colaba. Where will we go if civic body applies so many restriction on us?” he said. “Hawkers policy applies to all who do business on roads or foothpath or on public places other than markets, even for a few hours. So every vendor who seeks permission and pitches from BMC will have to submit domicile papers,” said Nidhi Choudhari, Deputy Municipal Commissioner.