Considered impartially, eviction of hawkers from Dhaka's footpaths appears to be a delicate subject. Both political expediency and kickback economy are involved in this business. Crucially, operation of such unauthorised business could not go on if there was no demand for goods on display on footpath or even a slice of road encroached upon. Such transactions have proliferated in new areas of the city due to high demand for the wares hawkers vend.
The ongoing eviction drive to clear off the footpaths and roadsides is nothing special. Specially, new governments had embarked on similar exercises in the past without ever achieving the stated objective. Before launching such a drive there is a need for recognising the plight of the hawkers. Why do they come back every time they are evicted? It is because the small businesses in most cases are the only source of income, the mainstay of their livelihoods. No authorities have ever wanted to know how many of them are solely dependent on footpath vending.
Indeed, in this digital age, a footpath vendors' database could be prepared for their rehabilitation. The administrator of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) stated that a location-based list of hawkers is being prepared. However, he did not reveal how long it will take to prepare such a list. This is like putting the cart, as is the wont of the various authorities here, before the horse. There is no clear-cut plan to execute it. Most likely the steam of the eviction drive will exhaust before bringing about a logical conclusion.
Hawkers in their thousands operate their illegal businesses on footpaths all across the city. Their numbers are higher around the administrative and business hubs or in other words where the crowds are thick. Bongo Bazar came into being as a result of the pressing need to rehabilitate hawkers. More such hawker markets can be set up where empty and unused spaces are available. Even the side alleys can be used for the purpose. This will ease the pressure to some extent but not accommodate all the hawkers. In that case, alternative arrangements for providing more such hawkers or livelihood options can be created. At the local community level, the playgrounds no longer fit for games and sports can be assigned for such trade activities.
The informal livelihood options are indicative of strength of the economy. A large number of unemployed youths are involved with footpath business. They have every right to employment. If they are forcibly evicted without making an alternative arrangement for livelihoods, they may get involved in criminal activities or commit extreme self harms. Neither of these is desirable.
Apart from hawker eviction, the city authorities have notified that construction materials, goods and various extempore cooking and other paraphernalia be removed from footpaths and roadsides. Well, such a drive is most welcome. There should be no compromise on this. Shops and restaurants infringe upon footpaths and roads in front of them in order to attract customers. Pedestrians have to negotiate heavy traffic right on the roads and streets proper. In this case, there is no room for concession and the authorities should come hard upon the encroachers.
So the eviction drive has two parts---one involving hawkers on footpaths and its adjacent road strips and the other concerning the piled-up construction materials and various other stationery goods or cooking utensils. In any case, alternative arrangements have to be made for footpath hawkers so that they can continue their small businesses or otherwise be absorbed in income generation processes. Already, the evicted hawkers have started returning to the footpaths from where they were evicted. The authorities too are on record saying that they would monitor the situation and continue the drive. So, there would be a cat-and-mouse game and at one point one of the parties will give up. Most likely the city fathers would be that party.
nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com
