The hawker syndrome

Dhaka city is one of the most densely populated cities in the world with an astounding density of around twenty four thousand people within a square kilometer. It's population, as of 2018, was about eighteen million.
The sidewalks of the city roads are often used by workers, school children and commuters to reach their destinations and are therefore extremely crowded. The already slender footpaths are made even narrower by hawkers setting up street shops on it. As a consequence, passers-by are often forced to come down on to the roads where accidents claim lives of civilians almost every day. Furthermore, passers-by often stop to look at or purchase vendors' items and block other people's passage unaware. Thus, hawkers indirectly contribute to major losses of time, money and perhaps even lives. Simply eviction of hawkers from the streets is not the proper solution either as it does not properly take into account all the consequences. Most hawkers earn their daily bread by the sale proceeds and therefore return to footpaths after a while notwithstanding illegality of their businesses.
Hence, it is crucial to provide hawkers with designated areas where they can set up shops and earn their living.
Ahmad Yeaseen
Ramna, Dhaka
[email protected]