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Down to Earth

Dark Picture of City's Civic Life

By ASM Nurunnabi
The problems bedeviling city life have, at present, acquired a stereotyped character. But no significant relief appears in sight. Some of the main chronic problems which affect the day-to-day life of the citizenry in atrocious ways are: growing traffic lams, heavy accumula tion of garbage at most city areas. the sad state of roads with potholes, depressions and in some cases deep craters, and the large-scale encroachments on footpaths by street hawkers in most areas.
On assumption of office the present Mayor of the Dhaka City Corporation presented a rosy picture of the prospective improvements in city life. That picture seems to have faded dur ing the last three years of his tenure, with most of his promises remaining far from being fructified.
Some of the ills of the city life deserve to tie highlighted Of course, the city's sky line is fast changing with the growth of high-rise commercial and apartment buildings without giving any thought how far such tall structures ensure the basic facilities for their occupants. On the other hand, people are coming in droves to the city from the villages, contributing to the rapid proliferation of slums. According to a recent report, the process of growth of slums in the city is so fast that within a period of six months, more than 170 new slums have sprouted. Even the river Buriganga has not been spared.
Some of these slums have grown into dens for criminals which are said to be patronised by various anti-social elements wielding considerable clout. On account of their prowess, some ^pf them are termed godfathers
in the world of crime.
The phenomenon of illegal occupation of city footpaths all over the city has caused a seri ous problem. Not an inch of space in areas adjacent to Gulistan. Bangabandnu Avenue and Baitul Mokarram is allowed to remain vacant Enquiries reveal that a huge thriving racket for allowing oc cupation by hawkers at a price f;oes on unchecked, yielding akhs of taka every year from the illegal occupants as tolls The racket is run on a grand scale Nobody dares to take possession of any part of the space without permission and payment of requisite salami to the musclemen.
There is a system of division of the money collected as tolls under which the top mastans get a sfiare of the total collection. A second part of the collec tion goes to the so-called yaradars’ of the roadside space, while a third part goes into the pockets of those who are said to ensure orderly conduct of bust ness without hindrance from any quarter. Sometimes groups of uniformed personnel are seen to carry on raids on the pavement hawkers But to many observers, such raids appear as mock exercises, which, of course, drive the hawkers helter skelter for some time Once the raids are over, the hawkers again return to their allotted space to pursue their business.
In such situations, the citizens have tended to forget that footpaths are part of the roads and they are meant for use by pedestrians. Such kinds of encroachments on pavements are said to be unknown in Singapore or New Delhi where civic authorities are reportedly alert about keeping the pave-
ments clear for pedestrians. Any infringement of rules in this behalf Is promptly dealt with by imposition of fines
Last year, the Dhaka City Corporation adopted a moderate scheme for rehabilitation of evicted hawkers at some suitable alternative areas Under this scheme, stretches of foot paths extending from Gulistan to Motijheel were due to be made hawker-free Tins was a laudable effort But some 3 to 4 months later as the scheme got underway, it was found that the hawkers had re occupied their position on the footpaths and went on with their business Though the police tried to evict them but that made little dif ference to the situation Rather it was observed a sort of co existence emerged among the par ties involved. It was said that with these parties, other elements such as so called leaders of various political parties, touts, hired mastans, and some terrorists — all bent on making a quick buck — Joined hands All these elements started campaign against the decision of the City Corporation for provision of alternative sites. When the campaign gained momentum. the City Corporation was advised not to proceed with the scheme until the hawkers are rehabilitated. So the on going drama of growing encroachment on the footpaths continue.
Besides, large chunks of areas in Motijheel, Dilkusha, and neighbourhood of Bangladesh Bank extending towards Ittefaq office also come under parking by thousands of cars, micro-buses. scooters, etc on both sides of the streets from morning till evening. As a result, all pedestrians during office hours are subject to immense suffering due to obstructed passage.