\\\'Drive soon\\\' to evict city footpath hawkers

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday said the government would launch a drive to evict hawkers from footpaths and stop plying of illegal rickshaws on city roads within a month, reports UNB.

The decision was taken at the 22nd meeting of the National Road Safety Council at a city hotel, the minister told reporters after the meeting.

The two city corporations -- north and south -- and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) would enforce the drive, he added.

It was also decided at the meeting that a coordination committee of five ministries -- Road Transport and Bridges Ministry, Shipping Ministry, Railways Ministry, Local Government, Rural Development and

Cooperatives Ministry and Home Affairs Ministry - would be formed to take measures to prevent road accidents across the country.

The National Road Safety Council will also sit after every two months to monitor the road safety situation.

Obaidul Quader also noted that the government was going to give more authority to the Highway Police regarding the filing of cases against errant vehicles.

He also noted that no market would be allowed to be set up alongside roads and highways.

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, Home Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and State Minister for Rural Development and Cooperatives Division Moshiur Rahman Ranga, among others, attended the meeting.