In the backdrop of no less than two High Court (HC) directives to free up pavements this year, the walkways for pedestrians continue to remain occupied by vendors of all shades and colours. What has come as a bit of a shock is that the police authorities themselves have set up camp occupying a large portion of the road and pavement on Mirpur road near Chadni Chawk market, one of the busiest shopping hubs of the city.
The move is farcical especially in light of the fact that on February 26 the HC directed the home secretary, police and two city corporations to remove all illegal structures from Dhaka pavements so that pedestrians may use them. Hence when the police themselves set up camp at a busy juncture like Chadni Chawk market, it lends credence to allegations of policemen taking toll from street vendors to allow them illegally to occupy public space and operate their trade with impunity. Then what are we to make of the statement issued by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police that they have taken special security measures to ease traffic jam during the month of Ramadan. If on the one hand, the police cooperate with city officials to clean up footpaths in some areas while on the other they set up camp in the middle of the road in other areas in the name of cracking down on crime, is this not all part of an eyewash campaign?
Certainly the authorities can do better than that. It is imperative for city officials to crack down on errant law enforcement elements who are flouting court rulings to evict all illegal roadside establishments and makeshift shops. A failure to do so would be on the one hand compounding woes of city dwellers already beset with multifarious problems but more importantly, it would aid in reinforcing the popular belief that elements of the police are in cahoots with offenders rather than being upholders of the law.