You’ve spotted them vending railway timetables and little books at railway stations across the city.
But did you know that as many as 86 per cent of them report harassment — verbal and physical abuse, confiscation of goods, goods being flung on the tracks and detention — by the railway authorities? Also, more than 91 per cent report harassment by the railway police.
Hawking at railway stations is illegal, but ‘‘how come the other hawkers are not harassed?’’ asks one blind hawker at Dadar station.
A recently-released report of a study on 315 blind hawkers and 49 blind beggars at railway stations in greater Mumbai and at the National Industrial Home for the Blind at Worli conducted by the India Centre for Human Rights and Law is something of an eye-opener.
A considerable section — 15.87 per cent — wants a formal licence to hawk at railway stations, since it’s easier to judge distances and move about with ease while selling goods.
‘‘Although looked at sympathetically just five years ago, blind hawkers today are exposed to constant police brutality. That’s the reason they wanted to find out if there is any alternative means of earning,’’ says Deepika D’Souza, a researcher with the centre.
These hawkers earn a paltry Rs 50 or Rs 100 per day. It’s neither enough to pay hafta, nor enough to pay the fine. Worried about their future, a group of blind hawkers approached the centre in February 2003, requesting an independent study to document the difficulties they face.
According to the report, hawkers and beggars earn similar sums. As a consequence of their inability to hawk legally, many hawkers opt for begging.
Recommending licences for these hawkers among other things, the report says government schemes are available only on paper.
‘‘The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment did not have the exact figures of the blind people who were assisted by government schemes,’’ says the report.