Hawkers take over city footpaths

DOT Desk
Footpaths of main thoroughfares stretching from Purana Paltan crossing to Dainik Bangla intersection have been illegally occupied by hawkers, causing sufferings to pedestrians and creating tailbacks in the capital, reports The Daily Sun.
Purana Paltan and its adjoining Gulistan being a transit intersection for both local and inter-district traffic remain heavily crowded round the clock.
In the situation, passage through this busy city centre has become a nightmare for years, thanks to illegal road occupancy and haphazard traffic operations. While visiting the areas on Monday, it was found that hawkers in large number were encroaching on the busy footpaths. Last year, Dhaka South City Corporation, in cooperation with Dhaka Metropolitan Police, conducted a massive eviction drive against hawkers to ensure smooth movement of pedestrians on footpaths. Police went for the action against the hawkers on footpaths at different parts of the capital, including Gulistan, Purana Paltan, Dainik Bangla Crossing and Motijheel areas. During the drive, several hundred hawkers were evicted from these areas. But, after some days, the evicted hawkers again started occupying busy footpaths in and around the city commercial hubs, Motijheel, Gulistan and Purana Paltan.
It was alleged that a few police officers and political leaders are involved in running business on the city footpaths.
Talking to the daily sun, Motaleb Hossain, a footpath hawker at Purana Paltan area, said, “Shortly after the eviction drives, we’ve again returned to footpaths to continue our business.”
“As we’re illegal, we’ve to satisfy local cops and ruling party leaders by paying an amount of money regularly,” he added.
Thousands of makeshift shops have sprung up on footpaths, particularly in Gulistan, Jatrabari, Sayedabad, Mouchak, Shantinagar, Motijheel, New Market, Nilkhet, Nawabpur, Karwanbazar, Gulshan, Badda, Natun Bazar, Baridhara, Uttara, Mirpur and Farmgate areas of the capital.
The mushroom growth of footpath shops is severely halting free movement of traffic, many city-dwellers alledged.
Sources said the two Dhaka city corporations and law enforcers have failed to evict hawkers from footpaths as some cops and ruling party-backed Hawkers League leaders provide them with support.
Lakhs of taka are realised from these poor hawkers as extortion every day, sources added.
More than 65 percent of city footpaths have been illegally occupied as the authorities of the two city corporations and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police pay little attention to free them from hawkers.
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) are responsible for maintaining about 163 kilometres of footpath across the capital, of which about 108 km are now under illegal occupation.
DSCC and DNCC sources said street hawkers, vendors and permanent shops have occupied most of walkways in the capital.
According to Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), in Dhaka city, 18 percent of existing footpaths are suitable for pavement while the rest are unusable due to car parking, grabbing by hawkers, waste dumping and stockpiling of construction materials.
“The occupation of footpaths by hawkers is causing sufferings to pedestrians and commuters,” said BAPA.
According to hawker leaders, some 2.5 lakh hawkers in the capital have to pay tolls every day to politically-backed extortionists to run their business.
Talking to the daily sun, DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said, “Police are ready to go for action against hawkers. But we’ve no authority to conduct hawker-eviction drives.”
Police can only help the city authorities carry out such drives,” he added.