The perennial problem of encroachment on footpath by hawkers has seen several attempts to evict them from there during successive governments' rule but to no effect. Forcible eviction is no way of addressing the problem because the retail trade is a livelihood option for those small traders. Thankfully, the administration has realised the hard reality at a time when employment opportunities are few and far between. If their compulsion for continuing trade is overwhelming, there is an influential quarters to back them from behind in exchange for extortion money shared by a nexus of that powerful coterie and members of the law enforcement agencies.
According to the finding of the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, illegal extortion money amounting roughly to Tk18.250 is realised annually from 500,000 hawkers in the capital city. Creating gainful employment elsewhere for them is not possible so what is a viable solution to the problem? Credit goes to the city authorities for thinking a bit out of the box. Both the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) have decided to issue smart cards with Quick Response (QR) code following registration for a monthly fee of Tk100 or an annual fee of Tk 1,000. Without registration, no one will be allowed to occupy any footpath space. Regulations have been formulated for compliance by hawkers.
A specific spot on a footpath will be allotted to a hawker. Encased or stored in the QR code will be detailed information such as the specific space, kind of trade and duration of operation. One remarkable provision is reservation of 30 per cent smart cards for women, physically challenged people and the transgender. No permanent structure can be built except temporary shed like large umbrella. More importantly, hawkers will have to leave a five feet wide strip for pedestrians to walk on. Only one person from a family will be eligible for registration. If they violate the regulations, their registration will be cancelled without explanation. If the rules and regulations can be enforced, trading on Dhaka's footpaths can be reasonably disciplined and streamlined.
According to a report carried in a vernacular contemporary, 300 hawkers have already received smart cards. The job of enlistment of hawkers is going on and by this time allotment of footpath spaces at Gulistan, New Market and Mirpur 10 has been completed. The two city corporations and the metropolitan police are jointly making the list on the basis of the information collected through the registration forms distributed by the DSCC and the DNCC.
Now the question is, how many of the 500,000 hawkers can be provided under this scheme? The chief city planner of the DSCC claims half of the total number of hawkers can be accommodated. But the general secretary of the Hawkers Union, Dhaka argues that only one-third of the total number can be provided. Even if 50 per cent of the hawkers can be allotted spaces for conducting business, what will happen to the rest 250,000?
The authorities are planning for holiday markets on weekly holidays and national holidays. This is no alternative to daily footpath trade. According to the BRAC study, each hawker has to surrender daily an illegal toll amounting to Tk192 on an average. Hawkers can afford this because the proceeds from daily sale are sufficient to cover the unwanted loss from their income. But to do so they have to position themselves at strategic points. If they fail to manage a smart card to operate footpath trade at a convenient place, their own and their family members' survival will be at stake.
Another unsettling question concerns the elimination of toll collection by players who pull the string from behind. The general secretary of the Hawkers Union thinks the initiative cannot bring an end to toll collection. His apprehension cannot be dismissed offhanded. As long as politics nurtures social parasites like illegal toll collectors, things will not fall in places. The social parasites know well enough how to manage people in power and use their influences.
Such interference, however, can be managed if the proposed committees ---local and central---play the role of active oversight bodies. Representatives from city corporations, local government division, traffic division and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) will be on the central committee and representatives from city corporations, RAJUK and traffic division will be on the local committees. If the committees work sincerely maintaining integrity, illegal toll collection can be made a practice of the past.
Clearly the initiatives to streamline management of hawkers' trade on the city's footpaths looks good enough but much will depend on how the regulations are applied at the grassroots level. One thing is clear that hawkers are highly enterprising and theirs is a battle for survival against overwhelming odds. They operate their trade under the open sky and inclement weather often impacts their daily sale. Many of them are qualified enough for employment in offices. In fact, some of them are in service and engage themselves in footpath trade after office hours in order to supplement their meagre wages or salaries.
The state has a responsibility of providing for each of its citizens. The right to livelihoods is a basic human right. So an eviction drive has to be followed up by income generation in some other form. In developed nations unemployed people enjoy social benefits. Countries like Bangladesh cannot afford this. But it can consider temporarily introducing such benefits for hawkers who will lose the right to trade on footpaths. They should be brought under a skill training scheme for employment. Until they complete receiving training and are provided, they will be entitled to the social benefit. Meanwhile, a long-term programme should be devised to create jobs in small towns and villages aimed at stopping labour migration to Dhaka. To that end, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should be expanded and strengthened all across the country.
nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com