Under the shelter of influential Awami League members and police, hawkers have occupied footpaths in front of Rabindra Sarobar in the capital’s Dhanmondi, which is under the jurisdiction of Dhaka South City Corporation.
Hawkers said they do business every day from morning till afternoon with the permission of local leaders of the Awami League and its associate bodies. They also said they pay bribes to police for allowing them to use footpaths for business.
Local residents said the occupation of footpaths by vendors lead to intolerable traffic jam before and after school hours.
“Also, cars are parked on roads which aggravates traffic congestion,” said Ariful Islam, who lives on Road 6 in Dhanmondi.
A hawker, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday he has to pay Shah Alam, known as a lineman, Tk200 every day to run his business.
“Besides, each hawker pays Tk50-100 to police every day,” he said.
Several hawkers gave the same figures but were not willing to disclose their names.
Alam, when contacted, said he would not talk to the press.
This correspondent saw two police officials collecting money from hawkers but they strenuously denied the allegation when this correspondent approached them.
Officer-in-Charge of Dhanmondi police station Nur-e-Azam told the Dhaka Tribune he was not aware of the practice of hawkers bribing police to do business on footpaths.
“We in the past faced difficulties while evicting such illegal street business in Dhanmondi, a posh area in the capital. Some locals said they find it easy to buy a variety of household goods, including clothes, from hawkers while others said the vendors create a noisy atmosphere,” he said.
OC Nur-e-Azam said he would visit nearby places at Rabindra Sarobar and would take measures to free the footpaths from the occupation of hawkers.
Dhaka south Mayor Sayeed Khokon also said immediate steps would be taken so that footpaths in Dhanmondi do not remain occupied by hawkers.