Citizens equally to be blamed for hawker menace: Maha minister

Maharashtra cabinet minister Jitendra Awhad has said citizens are equally to be blamed for the menace of illegal hawking in Thane city and the civic body cannot be held responsible for everything.

He was talking to reporters on Wednesday night after visiting a hospital here to meet Thane civic official Kalpita Pimple, who lost three of her fingers and received head injuries when a hawker stabbed her with a knife at the Kasarvadavali junction during an anti-encroachment drive on Monday.

Terming the incident as "unfortunate", Awhad said people raise concerns over illegal hawkers, but at the same time queue up to make purchases from them. People need to follow rules to ensure a safe society, he added.