The Bangladesh Hawkers Federation claims that vendors on Dhaka's footpaths are extorted for around Tk3,000 crore annually, which amounts to more than Tk8 crore being collected every day.
Abul Kashem, president of the federation, told Deutsche Welle that police, local political leaders and “linemen” collected a large amount of money from the footpaths of Dhaka.
However, the police and Dhaka’s two city corporations have denied these allegations promising action if evidence is found against any specific individual.
Footpath ‘leasing'
According to the federation, there are 200,000 hawkers in Dhaka south and 70 in Dhaka north, totalling approximately 270,000 in the two city corporation areas. During Eid, this number increases to around 320,000. If an average of Tk300 is extorted from each hawker daily, the annual collection amounts to Tk3,000 crore.
Several hawkers in the capital said there was an informal system of leasing the footpaths in place, organized by the road and calculated per foot. They said separate calculations were made for stalls, rickshaw-van carts or mobile hawkers.
The hawkers alleged that the police and local political leaders controlled this system, and it was managed by what they called were “linemen.”
The footpaths of Gulistan, New Market, Baitul Mukarram, Paltan, Motijheel, Dainik Bangla intersection, Golapshah Mazar, Zero Point, Bangabandhu Avenue and Fulbaria areas have the highest concentration of these and, as a result, witness the most extortion.
However, there is hardly any place in Dhaka that does not have a group in control of its footpaths. Even to set up a small vegetable shop in an alley, one has to pay Tk200-300 taka daily as extortion. Hawkers said this money was collected by police and linemen.
Extortion rates per hawker
In the Gulistan and New Market areas, the daily extortion amount depends on the size of the tables or stalls. For a five-foot by three-foot table with a stool in front, one has to pay Tk150-250 daily, with the rate increasing during Eids. Additional charges are applied for electricity, calculated per bulb, with Tk100 per bulb daily. There is also a “security fee” involved.
Bangladesh Hawkers Federation Abul Kashem said: "The daily extortion amount ranges from Tk100-1,500 per hawker. Those selling items like betel leaves and cigarettes also have to pay at least Tk100. In Gulistan, the belt shops within enclosed alleys pay up to TK1,500 daily. The extortion rate varies based on location and stall size."
Who is in charge?
Around 300 hawkers operate in front of and around Gausia Market. Conversations with hawkers revealed that those who sell clothes from wooden bedsteads face higher extortion rates: for one measuring four feet by seven feet, the daily extortion is Tk800-1,000. The total daily collection from this area is around Tk150,000.
Monir Hossain (pseudonym), who sells puffed rice from a small rickshaw van and pays Tk150 taka daily for the spot, said: "Policemen’s linemen come in the afternoon to collect the money. There are also people in place to manage these linemen."
Some hawkers “lease” their table or space for the entire year at a lower cost. Some lease spaces from linemen for a year and then sublet them to other hawkers. Monir mentioned that this business model was also thriving.
"There are approximately 300,000 hawkers in Dhaka. Our estimates suggest that around Tk3,000 crore is collected from them annually," Abul Kashem said, alleging that police, in coordination with politicians, controlled this extortion.
“The primary controllers of the footpaths are the police. They have run this illegal business collaborating with local political leaders year after year. A group of linemen has emerged to handle the collections and space allocations. Political power changes do not significantly affect their situation because they have the trust of policemen. And there are linemen involved with providing illegal electrical connections in the Power Division."
Some city corporation employees are also involved, according to the hawkers. The collected extortion money reached high-ranking police officers in Dhaka, Abul Kashem said.
Who benefits?
Brac University's Institute of Governance and Development conducted research on this issue. Its study, "The State of Cities 2016: Traffic Congestion in Dhaka City - Governance Perspective," found that Tk1,825 crore is collected annually from the footpaths of Dhaka's two city corporations, more than the combined annual budgets of the corporations at that time.
Dr Md Shanawez Hossain, the lead researcher and now a professor at Independent University’s Department of Global Studies and Governance, told Deutsche Welle: "The situation we observed during our research still persists. The number of hawkers and the extortion amounts have increased. The federation's estimate of Tk3,000 crore annually seems realistic to me."
Based on the research he said the extorted money was divided into three parts: police take 30%, the controllers and linemen take 40%, and local political leaders take the remaining 30%.
Dr Shanawez suggested legitimizing the footpaths for hawkers through a disciplined system, issuing identity cards or business permits and collecting a fixed fee from them to be deposited in the government's fund.
He said this would benefit the government and curb illegal activities. However, he noted that this was unlikely to happen because the same people responsible for implementing such changes benefited from the current illegal system.
Police action
Dr Kh Mahid Uddin, additional commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said: "These allegations of extortion have been around for years. The city corporations conduct eviction drives with police assistance, but the hawkers return. We have not researched extortion; those who have can comment on it. If we receive complaints against our members, we take action in line with the law."
Md Sirajul Islam, chief urban planner at the Dhaka South City Corporation, echoed similar sentiments. "We conduct regular eviction drives. However, who helps them return is worth investigating. We will take action if any of our members are found involved."
Meanwhile, Mahid Uddin said authorities were working on a plan to build a modern Dhaka city, which included not only evicting hawkers from footpaths but also rehabilitating them.