Making Dhaka's footpaths walkable

Dhaka is not at all a walkable city. There are footpaths along the city streets but most of them are occupied illegally by shops, makeshift kitchen markets, street hawkers, parked cars and motorcycles, waste dumps and even construction materials. Especially, pavements in New Market, Azimpur, Nilkhet and Farmgate areas are not suitable for walking. People cannot walk freely due to the illegal occupation by shopkeepers and street vendors. There are teashops, fruit, flower and vegetable vendors and what not. Some influential people are protecting these encroachers. Inaccessible pavements often force pedestrians to use main roads. As a result, the risk of road accidents is increasing day by day in these areas.

It is no secret that illegal toll collection is the main factor behind turning the footpaths into a marketplace for selling and hawking different products. During the winter, the number of sellers also increases. Most of them sell cheap winter clothes and street food items on footpaths. Sundry items are now available on the footpaths and the number of buyers is also not small. This, however, cannot be a permanent arrangement. Footpaths have to be free for walking only. These are for pedestrians. This is the norm in a civilised and cultured society.

Md Sajidul Islam Sohan,

Student of Dhaka University, Dhaka,

mdsajidulislam077@gmail.com