The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has finalised 20 permanent spots including two existing spots for open-air markets for the city street hawkers and vendors.

The newly allocated places are - the open space and on roadside at Alam Market in Jurain Postagola, in front of Jatrabari Samad Super Market, both sides of Khanka Sharif on Shaheed Faruq Road and on footpath of north side of Jatrabari Road, open spaces north side of Bangladesh and west side of Sonali Bank Head Office in Motijheel, Bangabandhu Avenue Link Road in Gulistan, footpaths on Bangabandhu Avenue, Baitul Mukarram Link Road and Muktangan area, north-side footpaths under Shahbagh thana, eastern footpaths at Doyel Chattar, east-side footpaths on New Market, western open space of Gausia Market and right-side footpaths on Mirpur Road from Gausia, footpaths on Indira Road, Farmgate, Rokeya Sarani area near Weather Office, Mirpur Road No 10, in front of Purabi Cinema Hall at Mirpur 11. The rest of the new sites are the open space near Mirpur Stadium, footpaths near Mirpur Shah Ali Market, footpaths near Mirpur Muktijoddha Market, footpaths near Mirpur-1 Shah Ali Market, footpaths near Mirpur Islami Bank, footpaths near Gabtali Terminal, the open space of Roads and Highways Department in Mohakhali Amtali area, open space near DCC Market in Gulshan-1 and Uttara RAJUK ground.

The previous two spots are in front of Shilpakala Academy at Segunbagicha and in front of Ideal School in Motijheel will remain open on Fridays.

Recently, the government has taken the decision as part of rehabilitation of the city street hawkers. This decision was taken before Eid. But considering the inconvenience of the buyers and hawkers, the decision was deferred for the time being.

Meanwhile, before Eid hawkers got permission to set up their makeshift shops at many parts of the city streets for selling their wares. As a result, hawkers sold many items including essentials and buyers were happy to buy those at comparatively low cost.Responding to the recent remark of the LGRD Adviser to the effect that holiday markets in the city area would be withdrawn if there were no necessity of those, different hawkers' organisations gave statements condemning the decision.

In the meantime, identity cards will be provided to the street hawkers and it will be mandatory for them to carry the cards.

Some 100,000 hawkers and street-vendors of the city faced uncertainty after the government's drive to evict them from the streets and footpaths where they used to sell things as wide in variety as nail polish to heavy items like plastic buckets and bowls. But then the government had set up some holiday markets to rehabilitate them.

Md Waliullah Patwari, founder President of Bangladesh Combined Footpath Hawkers Council, said, "We thank the Caretaker government for taking the decision of finalising 20 spots for the street hawkers."

After the government's eviction drive around 70 to 80 million people had been hit by the drive countrywide. There are about eight million hawkers around the country who were rendered jobless in that drive. Several cottage industries in and around Dhaka were also facing closure, as they were dependent on hawkers to ferry their products. But the present decision by the government would reduce the sufferings of the hawkers and they could get opportunity to rehabilitate themselves, he added.