Mumbai, Feb 10: In a bid to prevent seizures by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), illegal hawkers have begun storing vegetables and fruits in storm water drains.

The fruit and veggie sellers, before winding up for the day, store the perishables in underground drains to escape midnight seizures drive launched by the BMC.

A video which went viral on social media platforms showed hawkers on Nehru Road in Vakola hiding their produce in the drains to evade action.

Taking cognizance of the video, the civic authorities claimed a probe has been initiated. Assistant commissioner Alka Sasane of H-east ward (Bandra east) said an FIR could be filed against the hawkers identified in the video.

Former Congress corporator Brian Miranda said BMC should take immediate action in the case as the items stored by the hawkers in the gutters are products of mass consumption.

According to Miranda, the hawkers are taking such desperate measures to avoid the strict crackdown launched by the civic body after the Elphinstone stampede.

The BMC has launched a strict crackdown on illegal hawkers in the vicinity of railway stations to prevent any incident similar to the September 29 stampede at the Elphinstone station, which claimed 23 lives. In order to decongest the entrance and exit of the railway stations, the municipal body had demarcated a 150-metre no-hawking zone around them.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 10, 2018 06:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).