Make the pavements hawkers free
It feels as if I have arrived at the city of Chittagong after a very long time. The age-old New Market area doesn’t look the same now that hawkers have been evicted from the pavements. The pedestrians can now walk freely on the footpaths.
It’s a very welcome step, but where have the evicted hawkers gone? Did the authorities think about their rehabilitation before driving them out? Now that they have no work to do, many of them may very well get involved in crimes. The city mayor said he had consulted with the hawkers beforehand and pledged to rehabilitate them. We hope that he has made good on his promise.
Zabed Wali
Chittagong
