Sagar Biswas :
Tension runs high when challenging the decision of the Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokan, the hawkers have announced to start their business setting up makeshift shops on the footpaths of city’s Gulistan area from today morning [Sunday].
The hawkers on Saturday categorically said that they would not carry out the directives of mayor to run their footpath business after evening [6:30pm].
“If the mayor not cancels his directives by 5:00pm on Saturday, the hawkers will besiege Nagar Bhaban on Sunday morning for indefinite period,” leader of Hawkers Federation Sekandar Hayat said from a rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club.
But countering the programme, DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokan yesterday said that he would not step aside from earlier decision for the sake of general people, and if necessary, the DSCC with the help of Dhaka Metropolitan Police would resist any sort of anarchy in accordance with the law.
“We’ve enough sympathy for the real hawkers. But the beneficiaries are trying to create an abnormal situation exploiting the hawkers. The crime syndicates run crores of taka extortion business daily in the capital targeting the footpath hawkers. So, they are now provoking the hawkers for their personal gain,” Sayeed Khokan told The New Nation last night.
Earlier on January 11, the mayor held a meeting with the leaders of Hawkers Federation and gave decision that the hawkers would not run their business at Gulistan area in the working day-time.
To keep smooth movement of vehicles and pedestrians, the hawkers would be allowed to start business one and a half hours after office time [6:30pm], the meeting also decided. At the same time, the mayor had given assurance to rehabilitate 2,504 hawkers.
Interestingly within a span of only three days, the Hawkers Federation made a big twist by rejecting mayor’s offer terming them “eyewash”. They said the actual number of hawkers is around 10 lakh and the mayor would have to rehabilitate all of them.
“If the hawkers sit after 6:30 pm, they will not be able to earn their bread even for one time. Will the mayor feed the hawkers? Will they go to Gano Bhaban to take their meal? We’ll not tolerate any oppression on the hawkers. You [mayor] will have to build a market for them where there are plenty of customers,” President of Communist Party of Bangladesh Mujahidul Islam Selim said in the meeting arranged by the Hawkers Federation.
Expressing discontent over mayor’s decision, the CPB chief further said: “If the members of other professions can get ID cards, than why not the hawkers would get it? If the real hawkers get ID card, the fake hawkers will not get scope to create chaos.”
Against this backdrop, the DSCC mayor again said: “So far as we know, the CPB is a responsible political party. We don’t expect such provocation from them. Whereas, the CPB leaders are provoking the hawkers. However, we’ll not change our decision. If anybody tries to break law, we will conduct drive with the cooperation of DMP.”
Sources close to the DMP said that about three-fourth portion of city’s total footpaths is illegally occupied by hawkers creating a tremendous civic problem, whereas the City Corporations, both north and south Dhaka, are apparently helpless.
In fact, the city footpaths are used as alternative super markets for all sorts of goods, from fabrics to electronics and computer software to automobile hardware.
Targeting the lucrative business, some crime syndicates are running crores of taka extortion businesses allegedly getting patronization from a section of ruling party leaders. In this process, the syndicate men in the name of ‘protection’ collect weekly toll [hapta] from them.
Earlier, Dhaka North City Corporation [DNCC] mayor Annisul Huq had expressed severe dissatisfaction over the footpath extortion saying that influential persons are involved in grabbing city footpaths. But he too failed to stop footpath business in his jurisdictions.
As per information available, of the 163 km footpath across the city [DNCC and DSCC], around 108.60 km has been grabbed by the illegal occupants. Besides, out of the 2289.69 km roads for vehicles, about 527 has been occupied by street vendors causing traffic jam almost everyday.
There is widespread allegation that a section of dishonest officials of the two city corporations provide support to the illicit business in exchange of fat payment per month.
Tension runs high when challenging the decision of the Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokan, the hawkers have announced to start their business setting up makeshift shops on the footpaths of city’s Gulistan area from today morning [Sunday].
The hawkers on Saturday categorically said that they would not carry out the directives of mayor to run their footpath business after evening [6:30pm].
“If the mayor not cancels his directives by 5:00pm on Saturday, the hawkers will besiege Nagar Bhaban on Sunday morning for indefinite period,” leader of Hawkers Federation Sekandar Hayat said from a rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club.
But countering the programme, DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokan yesterday said that he would not step aside from earlier decision for the sake of general people, and if necessary, the DSCC with the help of Dhaka Metropolitan Police would resist any sort of anarchy in accordance with the law.
“We’ve enough sympathy for the real hawkers. But the beneficiaries are trying to create an abnormal situation exploiting the hawkers. The crime syndicates run crores of taka extortion business daily in the capital targeting the footpath hawkers. So, they are now provoking the hawkers for their personal gain,” Sayeed Khokan told The New Nation last night.
Earlier on January 11, the mayor held a meeting with the leaders of Hawkers Federation and gave decision that the hawkers would not run their business at Gulistan area in the working day-time.
To keep smooth movement of vehicles and pedestrians, the hawkers would be allowed to start business one and a half hours after office time [6:30pm], the meeting also decided. At the same time, the mayor had given assurance to rehabilitate 2,504 hawkers.
Interestingly within a span of only three days, the Hawkers Federation made a big twist by rejecting mayor’s offer terming them “eyewash”. They said the actual number of hawkers is around 10 lakh and the mayor would have to rehabilitate all of them.
“If the hawkers sit after 6:30 pm, they will not be able to earn their bread even for one time. Will the mayor feed the hawkers? Will they go to Gano Bhaban to take their meal? We’ll not tolerate any oppression on the hawkers. You [mayor] will have to build a market for them where there are plenty of customers,” President of Communist Party of Bangladesh Mujahidul Islam Selim said in the meeting arranged by the Hawkers Federation.
Expressing discontent over mayor’s decision, the CPB chief further said: “If the members of other professions can get ID cards, than why not the hawkers would get it? If the real hawkers get ID card, the fake hawkers will not get scope to create chaos.”
Against this backdrop, the DSCC mayor again said: “So far as we know, the CPB is a responsible political party. We don’t expect such provocation from them. Whereas, the CPB leaders are provoking the hawkers. However, we’ll not change our decision. If anybody tries to break law, we will conduct drive with the cooperation of DMP.”
Sources close to the DMP said that about three-fourth portion of city’s total footpaths is illegally occupied by hawkers creating a tremendous civic problem, whereas the City Corporations, both north and south Dhaka, are apparently helpless.
In fact, the city footpaths are used as alternative super markets for all sorts of goods, from fabrics to electronics and computer software to automobile hardware.
Targeting the lucrative business, some crime syndicates are running crores of taka extortion businesses allegedly getting patronization from a section of ruling party leaders. In this process, the syndicate men in the name of ‘protection’ collect weekly toll [hapta] from them.
Earlier, Dhaka North City Corporation [DNCC] mayor Annisul Huq had expressed severe dissatisfaction over the footpath extortion saying that influential persons are involved in grabbing city footpaths. But he too failed to stop footpath business in his jurisdictions.
As per information available, of the 163 km footpath across the city [DNCC and DSCC], around 108.60 km has been grabbed by the illegal occupants. Besides, out of the 2289.69 km roads for vehicles, about 527 has been occupied by street vendors causing traffic jam almost everyday.
There is widespread allegation that a section of dishonest officials of the two city corporations provide support to the illicit business in exchange of fat payment per month.
