Our Correspondent
RAJSHAHI, Apr 28: Just within a span of a week of eviction of hawkers from the streets and footpath of busy Shaheb Bazaar area of the city, all the hawkers have staged a comeback again occupying the same space.
It is learnt, there is a continuous traffic jam from Shaheb Bazar zero point to the Moni Chattar area from morning to the midnight due to setting up several hundred makeshift shops beside the street and on footpath there. To ease traffic movement through the busy Shaheb Bazaar area, Rajshahi metropolitan police conducted an eviction drive against those illegal shops at Shaheb Bazar, RDA Market and Boro-Nasjid areas on April-16 but just two-day after the drive those shops started to re-emerge at their former spots and now the same scenario returned on roadside and the footpath. The situation has turned so worse that the shoppers and people walk through Shaheb Bazaar area even have no space to step down their feet to proceed. As a result suffering of shoppers and passerby has been increased.
It is seen, the fruit vendors with vans, temporary tea stall, old-cloth sellers, cigarette sellers with vans, tables and tools have reoccupied most of open space on the street connecting Zero point of Boro Masjid of Shaheb Bazar.
The flower vendors have staged a comeback at the streetside and footpath of zero point so the lock repairers, umbrella repairers, sellers of belt of pants, cosmetic sellers and even sellers of various types of Ayurvedic and Unani drugs were seen hawking on the busy spots. On the other side of zero point, the street side and footpath was seen occupied by the vendors of national flag, lungi, towel and cut-pieces of cloths and thus squeezing the movement of passersby and auto-rickshaws. As a result, the traffic jam with sufferings of the passersby staged a comeback.
Shariful Islam, a passerby expressed with anger that just two or three-day after the eviction, the vendors have reoccupied the footpath and even roadside as a result the shoppers and passersby have no choice but to walk through middle of the street risking their live to be collided with running vehicles. Many of them were also being victim of street accident for the same reason. Moreover, due to reoccupying of the footpath and roadside by the make ship vendors, the original shops of Shaheb Bazaar, RDA market and Boro Masjid area have become inaccessible.
Raihan Alam, a cosmetics shop owner at RDA market informed, due to occupying of footpath by hawkers and vendors, the customers felt it troublesome to visit his shop and shops of many others in the market. He said, the makeshift shops of street side and footpath should be permanently evicted and the owners of those makeshift shop should be rehabilitated after their eviction, otherwise, the menace of occupying streets will continue.
Towel seller Rahidul Islam, flower seller Sumon Ali, fruit vendor Jamil Hossain informed, they do not have the capacity to rent a shop in the market or no place to sit for selling their goods, they were being forced to sit beside the street and on the foot path to continue their business. 'Due to manage day's meal, they don't have any other option but to sit on the foot path and street side to continue their business. They admitted that the make shift shops on the streets and footpath were causing sufferings of the passerby but due to earn their livelihood they have no other way.
Ifte Khayer Alam, Senior Assistant Commissioner of RMP informed, the footpath vendors were evicted according to the direction of Police Commissioner of RMP to wane sufferings of the passerby. If he directs again, the foot path vendors will be evicted once again.
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