No permanent solution yet

The city dwellers welcomed the Dhaka South City Corporation's (DSCC) initiative to keep footpaths free from hawkers for safe walking, but the “sudden eviction drive” brought trouble to many hawkers.

Before ensuring an alternative livelihood for them, the authorities conducted drives in Gulistan and its adjacent areas, including Purana Paltan, Dainik Bangla Mor and Motijheel, since January 15 and vandalised their goods and settlements, alleged hawkers.

Besides, the city corporation made a list of 2,506 hawkers for rehabilitation, which does not contain all the hawkers' names in the area, they added.

This resulted in hawkers' demonstration and unrest for the last two weeks.

The hawkers demanded the city corporation rehabilitate them before eviction and allow continuing their business at some particular places on the footpaths by issuing them ID cards.

On January 11, DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokon announced the hawkers will not be allowed to sit with their goods in Gulistan and adjacent areas during working hours from January 15.

But they will be allowed to sit at some selected places from 6:30pm onwards during the working days, and will be allowed to do business all day on the holidays, he said at a meeting with a group of hawker leaders.

The city corporation magistrates conducted eviction drives in the area since the deadline.

“The decision was sudden as the city corporation didn't give us enough time to think about it or changing our profession. They didn't even give us time to move our goods during the drive,” a hawker leader Abdul Hasem Kabir told The Daily Star.

“How could the city corporation take such a decision before our rehabilitation...,” said Kabir, convener of Bangladesh Hawkers Union.

The hawkers in the area told the reporters they have to suffer if they follow the city corporation's direction, because they will not be able to earn enough money to run their families by doing business only two days a week and few hours on the other days.

“Doing business after 6:30pm is pointless as most of our customers buy from us during office hours,” said Mohammad Wahab, a hawker in the Paltan area.

“If the city corporation upholds its decision, we have to starve and my kids will have to drop out of schools,” said Wahab, a blanket and cloth seller.

Talking about the list of hawkers, Mohammad Shuvo, a hawker in the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque area, said, “Around three months ago some city corporation officials came and asked for our photos and national IDs to become listed.”

Those who managed to provide the documents right away got listed, he claimed. A hawker leader Belal Hossain said their problems will be solved if the city corporation makes a new list of hawkers and allows them doing business in a systematic way until they become rehabilitated.

However, a city corporation official told The Daily Star that they warned the hawkers several months ago about the eviction and conducted small drives as part of the warning.

But the hawkers did not pay any heed, said Mamun Sardar, a DSCC executive magistrate. “The hawkers who were not included in the list, will be added later on,” he said.

PUBLIC REACTIONS

The pedestrians in the recently evicted areas appreciated the DSCC's eviction drive and told The Daily Star that they can walk on the footpaths more comfortably than before.

“Before, we used to walk on the roads amid risks as hawkers blocked most of the footpaths,” said Ahasan Limon, a pedestrian in the Motijheel area.

Limon, a private company employee, urged the city corporation to keep the footpaths free in the long run.

Morium Jannat Sharmin, a post-graduate student, was walking on a footpath in the Paltan area. “Due to the drives, we are now able to walk freely as we don't have to face the hassle of crowd created by the hawkers.”

“The hawkers not only disturb the pedestrians, but also hamper our business. They used to block the entrance of our shops and made us lose customers,” said a shop owner of Gulistan Railway Supermarket.

HAWKERS' RELUCTANCE TO SWITCH TRADE

Most of the hawkers, involved in the business for many years, are not interested to leave the trade as they think they will not be able to make a good profit by switching to other professions.

Uttam Kumar, a hawker in the Purana Paltan area, said he has a shop at a nearby market, but he prefers the streets as he can sell more goods there and customers walking by can see his products out in the open.

Abdur Rahim, a hawker nearby Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, claimed he has been selling fruits for more than 40 years in the area. “My family is solvent enough, but I like this job because I don't want to forget my root.” About rehabilitation, the 70-year-old alleged those who got rehabilitated in some hawkers' markets before were not “real hawkers”.

A clothes shop-owner at Bongo Bazar Hawkers' Market complex, a market allocated for the hawkers, told the reporters, “I'm not the owner of the shop and not even a hawker. It was rented out to me.”

“I heard the shop was once owned by a hawker; he rented it to a businessman. The shop exchanged many hands. Later, I rented it...but in papers the real owner is the hawker,” he said, seeking anonymity.

HAWKERS' PROTESTS CONTINUE

Meanwhile, many hawkers continued protesting the DSCC's decision and demanded not to evict them before rehabilitation. Hawker leaders vowed to continue their protest until the city corporation takes steps regarding their demand.