MUMBAI: "Chalo band karo... jaldi... gaadi aa raha hai..." These words would be familiar to Mumbaikars who often buy from hawkers. The moment they are heard, hawkers start packing up. And then a while later, a civic team is spotted arriving to clear the encroachments.How do hawkers know they are coming? “The civic staff warns 'sahab' (owner of the stall) 30 minutes before they come. On days when the staff fails to inform 'sahab' and our goods are confiscated, he deals with BMC staff as he has a good rapport with them,” says Rasi Mulani (name changed) who sells belts outside Andheri (west) railway station.BMC has anti-encroachment squads in every ward. So what keeps street businesses running in the face of what appears to be close civic scrutiny? It’s the ‘hafta’ (protection money), say hawkers. There are nearly 3 lakh hawkers in Mumbai, and according to conservative estimates, each pays anywhere between Rs 20 and Rs 100 in hafta every day. This means up to Rs 1.5 crore in cash changes hands every day to protect the businesses that have taken over Mumbai’s streets. According to estimates, the hawkers in Mumbai do a daily business of nearly Rs 120 crore.During interactions with scores of hawkers across the city, TOI learnt that in many areas, someone is designated to collect hafta from the stalls and hand it over to officials—civic or police staff including beat marshals who are supposed to crack down on illegal vending in their jurisdiction. However in case of markets controlled by the ‘seths’ or ‘sahabs’, it’s these invisible overlords who deal with BMC directly. In some markets, the money is paid on a weekly basis, while in others it is a daily bribe.And this ‘hafta’ differs from one market to another. For instance, hawkers on the stretch between Churchgate station and CSMT pay Rs 50 everyday. Despite the regular payment, when they see a BMC vehicle approaching, they flee the spot with their goods. “There’s no guarantee in this business. However it’s become a ritual to pay hafta,” said a hawker in Fort area.In Bandra’s Linking Road, hafta is Rs100 every day, while in the market near Kurla railway station, hawkers say they pay Rs 20 to BMC staff. But a hawker in Kurla says they pay two teams—a ward-level squad and the BMC’s central anti-encroachment team. The BMC’s central encroachment team, known as ‘Bombay special’, was disbanded four months back after its members were found to be hand-in-glove with illegal hawkers in South Mumbai’s Fashion Street.Some hawkers say that when police seize the goods, each of them pays an additional Rs 20-Rs100 to recover them. A vegetable vendor near Santacruz railway station says once police seize their goods, the official fine is Rs 1,250. “Once they seized my basket of tomatoes, most of which had got spoilt, and told me to pay Rs 1,250. I did not take it back,” the hawker says.Asked about efforts to evict hawkers, a BMC official said anti-encroachment teams work in two shifts. According to a ward level official, they sometimes even visit an area twice a day. Seized goods are removed to a BMC godown and returned only after a fine is imposed. That’s the official line. However, some hawkers say there are times when police or civic staff hand over their stuff soon after it’s confiscated because they know the hawkers are paying them regularly.A two-time corporator says hawking is an organized crime now. “In my ward, there was huge unemployment after the mills shut. Several people took to hawking... Today the original hawker no longer sits there, but there is someone else doing business there. The original hawker collects Rs 1,500-Rs 4000 from them which is then further distributed (a part of it is paid to officials),” he says. Another corporator points out that with most hawkers being illegal, everyone tries to claim his pound of flesh. “The money is seen reaching everyone’s table, not just ground-level staff. So taking action is not in the interest of the authorities,” the corporator says.(This is Part 3 of a series on hawking in Mumbai. Tomorrow: In the final part, we will speak to the BMC chief on the road ahead for the hawking business in Mumbai)