Footpaths and roads across Dhaka have once again fallen under the control of hawkers only days after a major eviction drive by city corporations and police temporarily cleared the streets.
Within days of the eviction, many of the footpaths were seen reoccupied, while some areas were even marked out to allocate designated spaces for hawkers.
From 1 April to 10 April, authorities conducted the drive to evict hawkers from footpaths and major roads in the capital. Although it temporarily improved pedestrian movement, thousands of hawkers, claiming they had lost their only source of income, soon returned – this time spilling onto roads instead of footpaths.
As a result, the capital's streets are once again caught in a complicated standoff between urban order and livelihoods. The move to rehabilitate hawkers through digital identity cards has also triggered public criticism.
Dhaka North City Corporation has already distributed digital identity cards to 202 hawkers in Mirpur-1, Mirpur-2 and Mirpur-10. Dhaka South City Corporation has also issued cards to around 100 hawkers.
Through the initiative, authorities aim to legalise and relocate hawkers to designated spaces. However, city corporations have announced plans to distribute more cards in phases, encouraging many hawkers to ignore restrictions and continue operating on roads.
Authorities have allocated four-foot-by-five-foot spaces for each hawker, but many traders say the arrangement is unrealistic.
According to hawkers, many of their vans and product displays extend up to eight or 10 feet, making it impossible to operate within the designated boundaries.
Many hawkers insist they are unwilling to relocate regardless of rehabilitation efforts.
Akhtar Mia, who has been running a footpath business in Gulistan for the past decade, said eviction alone cannot solve the issue.
"They evicted us and expected us to disappear. But where will we go?" he told the media.
"We pay money to local [political] leaders. Can they remove us so easily? We have returned because this is where our customers are. If we move elsewhere, our businesses will collapse," he said.
He added that although city authorities promised rehabilitation, relocating traders from Gulistan to areas such as Mirpur would not be practical.
"Officials have already collected our documents and said they will provide hawker cards. But we will not leave this area," he insisted.
Visits to several areas of the capital revealed that despite joint eviction drives by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and the city corporations, hawkers have quickly reclaimed roads and footpaths.
In Motijheel, Baitul Mukarram, Sayedabad, New Market and near Dhaka Medical College Hospital, hawkers were seen setting up stalls, benches and vans on roadsides immediately after the drives ended.
In many areas, they now occupy not only footpaths but significant portions of roads, increasing traffic congestion and risks for pedestrians.
Courtesy: The Business Standard.
Bd-pratidin English/TR
