Illegally occupied Narayanganj footpaths

A footpath is for a walk, for the use of pedestrians only. It is the recognised manner in a civilised country. Bangladesh is an exception. The city of Narayanganj is a terrible example of this connection. Most of the footpaths in the city are occupied by hawkers and vendors. It is impossible to walk on these footpaths. The result is terrible traffic on the roads. Thousands of people need to walk on streets daily to cover a short distance. But the roads are also congested as the numbers of vehicles are too many. It creates risks of accidents.
Political backing for illegal toll-taking is behind the makeshift shops in footpaths. Every day, a large amount of money is collected from the vendors on footpaths. It is alleged that various quarters including some political activists, get the share. Due to strong resistance from these quarters, the city corporation could not do anything. Despite several attempts, these footpaths in the city centre are not accessible to pedestrians. Interestingly, some footpaths in the southern part of the city are free. The people in Narayanganj need all the footpaths free for walkers.

Md Selim Mollah
Narayanganj, Bangladesh
mdselimmollah7469@gmail.com