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Money made thru1 sale of footpath space

In some areas there are dummy hawkers' committees, which are actually comprised of toll-takers, instead of hawkers. The committees collect the toll on daily or seasonal basis and distribute the amount among the police and local hoodlums

Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
A section of’linemen’ are making millions out of the sale of 'possession,' maintenance and security of spots on the city's footpaths for the use of hawkers ahead of Eid.
Aided by policemen who receive commission from this illegal business, the toll-takers have set their own laws to control and maintain their respective areas, although the authorities often make an eyewash of evicting hawkers from th e walkways.
The hawkers have to pay toll regularly at a fixed rate to the linemen. If any of them refuses to pay, the police evict him from the footpath. In some cases the hawkers arc arrested or harassed until they agree to pay th e toll.
"A hawker needs to be brave and resourceful to fend off the harassment," said Rahim (not his real name), a hawker, with a shop atNewElephantRoad.
"I have not paid toll over the last few years as I am a resident of this area and have my own group of friends, who would come to protect me from the linemen."
But others are not as lucky as Rahim. They have to fulfil the demand of the linemen who control different hawker lines or floating vendors on the city walk- ways.
Most of these linemen started off as hawkers themselves and over time built up rapport with the policemen and local hoodlums.
In some areas there are dummy hawkers’ committees, which are
actually comprised of toll-takers, instead of hawkers. The committees collect the toll on daily or seasonal basis and distribute the amount among the police and local hoodlums.
The possession rates for space on footpaths vary according to the size of the space and the volume of crowd that daily passes a certain footpath.
The rates in Baitul Mukarram, Farmgate, Gulistan, Sadarghat, Motijhecl and Gausia areas range fromTk 8,000 to Tk 10,000 for each
season while it is Tk 5,000 to Tk 7,000 in the areas like Malibagh, Shantinagar, Shahbagh, and Rampura areas.
Besides the seasonal payment, a daily toll is also collected from the footpath hawkers.
In tlie busy areas, the daily toll varies from Tk 60 to Tk 100, while in the less crowded areas, the toll ranges fromTk 20 to Tk 50.
Most of these busy areas arc divided into zones controlled by each lineman. For example, five linemen control Gausia while one controls the New Elephant Road.
"During Ramadan and the Eid season, the toll rate doubles as our sales increase," said another hawker near Gausia Market. "This is for Eid bonus for the linemen and police.”
The names and locations of some of these linemen were pub-lished in a national daily recently but the authorities concerned did not take any step against them.
The Dhaka City Corporation and Dhaka Metropolitan Police sometimes launch hawker eviction drive to clear the footpaths but in most cases they return in a fewhours.
"We have received such complaints but there was never any substantial evidence or information about the linemen," said DMP Commissioner Ashraful Huda.
He said the police department would take lawful measures against such criminals and the dishonest policemen, if they were caught red-handed.