Besides, working in dangerous conditions at the makeshift markets, mostly busy thoroughfares, has only worsened their plight.

Though the government has introduced holiday markets to cushion the after effects of eviction, the vendors complain that the sites are not suitable to woo customers enough to make a modest living and they pose safety hazards.

The Friday's accident at Gulistan that left two hawkers dead and one critically injured has stoked up their fears and insecurities. They said sometimes they feel like they are working "in an open field".

Earlier in January, eviction from the footpaths rendered many hawkers jobless.

None of families can even think of having three meals a day. Most of them are living on the money they had saved for a rainy day but they are running fast out of the provisions.

Many had to stop their children's education while some have left the city for their village homes.

Meanwhile, the hawkers blamed the road accident on inadequate safety measures for the holiday markets.

They said they usually start making room for themselves as the on duty police officers blow whistles after stopping vehicular movement on the road designated for hawking at the weekends. Hawkers in the Gulistan area alleged that on early Friday the whistle was blown before stopping traffic.

As soon as they took to securing space on the road with the signal at around 2:15am, a pick-up ran over three of them, leaving two killed.

High officials of the traffic department said the hawkers are supposed to be on the road from 5:00am to 5:00pm every Friday. They said they did not know anything like hawkers' lying on the road fixed for the holiday market after midnight.

The traffic department after the accident, however, decided that from now on the road from Bangabandhu Square to Zero Point at Gulistan would remain off-limits for holiday market after 12 on Thursday night.

GRIEVANCES

Like many, Solaiman, 39, took up the profession at the tender age of three. He and four of his family could have three meals a day until the recent eviction. He used to own a shop on the footpath at Gulistan and earn Tk 6,000 a month.

But over the last five months, his monthly earnings have plummeted to Tk 1,000 when his house rent is Tk 1,300. His wife teaches Arabic to children at the shanties and earns about Tk 1,000. They have two boys, one going to school. But as Solaiman could not afford anymore, his son had to drop out.

Solaiman has to pay Tk 10 for carrying goods from his house in Keraniganj to Gulistan while one kg rice costs him at least Tk 23.

"The amount I earn is not enough even to buy the rice my family needs," said Solaiman adding that the nature of the job itself requires them to be on the wayside.

"With my current income, I cannot even buy enough food for my little daughter," said Sayeed whose income dropped to Tk 2,000 per month from Tk 9,000. He had a makeshift shop at Gulistan before eviction.

Oftentimes, the hawkers have to count Tk 10 to Tk 100 in bribe for police and linesmen. Their sufferings reach peak when it rains as they cannot go out.

After dislodging hawkers from footpaths across the capital on January 17, the caretaker administration set several sites as holiday markets. Those include Dilkusha, Gulistan, Matsya Bhaban, Manik Mia Avenue, Motijheel Ideal, Panthapath, New Market, Adabar and Palashi intersections.

A large number of the city hawkers cannot run business in the holiday markets due to space constraints. Those based in one area do not want to go to a market in another area as it requires higher transportation cost.