UNB, Dhaka :
Once one complaint used to be heard hawkers occupy footpaths, now there are many who keep on contributing towards making the city’s walkways un-walkable.
Though most footpaths are pitted and shattered, those are occupied by construction materials, littered with garbage, poor lighting and security, and with slopes built by shop and apartment owners for cars use, forcing pedestrians to step down on the road and then up the footpath again.
According to sources at city corporations, all efforts to free the capital’s walkways from illegal occupants and make those walkable over the years have gone in vain due to alleged backing from influential quarters and absence of monitoring by authorities concerned.
Illegal car parking, setting up of small shops or stockpiling of construction materials on footpaths go on as the authorities concerned are reluctant to take the offenders to the task.
A top official at Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) said illegal occupants cannot be evicted from the footpaths completely for lack of sincerity of law enforcement agencies and influential quarter’s patronage.
He said, though the DCCs conduct mobile courts to free the footpaths to facilitate smooth movement of pedestrians but hawkers and illegal occupants reoccupy those after their eviction.
During Ramzan, footpath occupation marks an unusual rise as fruit vendors and iftar sellers set up their makeshift shops blocking the movement of pedestrians. Allegations are also there that law-enforcers take toll from such shops.
According to Dhaka’s two city corporations, the two cities have around 389 kilometres of footpaths. But most of pavements along Malibagh to Rampura bridge, Mouchak to Bangla Motor via Moghbazar crossing, Satmasjid Road, Mirpur Road, Mirpur Section-10 crossing to Taltola on Rokeya Sarani, Indira Road, in front of Farm View super market and Ananda Cinema Hall and its adjoining areas, Sonargaon crossing to Hatirpol Bazar, Nilkhet crossing to the Science Laboratory, both Motijheel and Dilkhusa Comercial areas, Gulistan area, Gulapshah Mazar to Sadarghat via Bangshal Road, English Road, English Road crossing to Babu Bazar bridge and most of the areas of Old Dhaka are occupied by grabbers which hampers pedestrians’ movement.
Contacted, Chief Estate Officer of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Khaled Ahmed said the corporation regularly conducts eviction drive against illegal footpath grabbers but the grabbers return to the same place again.
Once one complaint used to be heard hawkers occupy footpaths, now there are many who keep on contributing towards making the city’s walkways un-walkable.
Though most footpaths are pitted and shattered, those are occupied by construction materials, littered with garbage, poor lighting and security, and with slopes built by shop and apartment owners for cars use, forcing pedestrians to step down on the road and then up the footpath again.
According to sources at city corporations, all efforts to free the capital’s walkways from illegal occupants and make those walkable over the years have gone in vain due to alleged backing from influential quarters and absence of monitoring by authorities concerned.
Illegal car parking, setting up of small shops or stockpiling of construction materials on footpaths go on as the authorities concerned are reluctant to take the offenders to the task.
A top official at Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) said illegal occupants cannot be evicted from the footpaths completely for lack of sincerity of law enforcement agencies and influential quarter’s patronage.
He said, though the DCCs conduct mobile courts to free the footpaths to facilitate smooth movement of pedestrians but hawkers and illegal occupants reoccupy those after their eviction.
During Ramzan, footpath occupation marks an unusual rise as fruit vendors and iftar sellers set up their makeshift shops blocking the movement of pedestrians. Allegations are also there that law-enforcers take toll from such shops.
According to Dhaka’s two city corporations, the two cities have around 389 kilometres of footpaths. But most of pavements along Malibagh to Rampura bridge, Mouchak to Bangla Motor via Moghbazar crossing, Satmasjid Road, Mirpur Road, Mirpur Section-10 crossing to Taltola on Rokeya Sarani, Indira Road, in front of Farm View super market and Ananda Cinema Hall and its adjoining areas, Sonargaon crossing to Hatirpol Bazar, Nilkhet crossing to the Science Laboratory, both Motijheel and Dilkhusa Comercial areas, Gulistan area, Gulapshah Mazar to Sadarghat via Bangshal Road, English Road, English Road crossing to Babu Bazar bridge and most of the areas of Old Dhaka are occupied by grabbers which hampers pedestrians’ movement.
Contacted, Chief Estate Officer of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Khaled Ahmed said the corporation regularly conducts eviction drive against illegal footpath grabbers but the grabbers return to the same place again.
