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The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has undertaken a plan to rehabilitate footpath hawkers by setting up temporary markets on six open grounds, DNCC Administrator Safiqul Islam Khan said on Saturday.
Under the initiative, hawkers will be accommodated in designated locations through a registration process, while a fee will be collected for maintenance of the facilities, he added.
Mr Khan said this while speaking as the chief guest at a dialogue titled "Is Dhaka becoming a dead city? Way forward", organised by Urban Development Journalist Forum, Bangladesh (UDJFB), at a city hotel on Saturday.
He said the number of hawkers occupying footpaths has increased sharply in recent years, causing severe inconvenience to pedestrians.
"Whereas there were around 200 hawkers before, the number has now risen to nearly 2,000, pushing public sufferings to an extreme level," he said, adding that even ambulance movement in front of hospitals is being obstructed.
"Two per cent of people are causing hardship for the remaining 98 per cent. We cannot allow the entire city to suffer for a small group," he said.
He added that hawkers would only be allowed to operate in designated places for a fixed period and must remove their stalls afterward. Shops will have to be trolley-based, and no permanent or semi-permanent structures will be allowed.
Highlighting broader urban management challenges, Mr Khan said most initiatives taken in the city are temporary in nature, stressing that sustainable solutions require long-term planning.
He also underscored the need to bring the utility service providers, including Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), under a coordinated authority to improve service delivery.
RAJUK Chairman Engineer Md Riazul Islam was present as a special guest while urban rights activist and Gulshan
Society President Barrister Omar Sadat presenting the keynote paper.
Dhaka WASA Additional Chief Engineer Alamgir Hasin Ahmed and Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) Deputy Transport Planner Dhrubo Alam spoke on the occasion, among others.
UDJFB President Matin Abdullah chaired the event while General Secretary Hasan Iman moderated it.
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