FROM PAGE 5

They also discussed introducing a registration system to issue identity cards to hawkers to ensure better regulation of their activities at the meeting.

Meanwhile, three weeks after eviction drives cleared major footpaths in the capital, hawkers have already begun returning to their former spots.

In this context, DNCC Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan yesterday said there are plans to build temporary markets in six open fields to rehabilitate street vendors currently occupying Dhaka’s footpaths.

Street vendors will be allowed to operate in these designated areas through a registration system, while maintenance of the sites will be managed through a fixed fee, he said while speaking as chief guest at an urban dialogue, titled “Is Dhaka Becoming a Dead City? What Needs to Be Done?”, at a hotel in Gulshan.

The event was organised by the Urban Development Journalists Forum Bangladesh and chaired by its president Matin Abdullah. The keynote paper was presented by urban rights activist and Gulshan Society President Barrister Omar Sadat, while special guest remarks were delivered by Rajuk Chairman Engineer Md Riazul Islam.

Shafiqul also said the number of hawkers on sidewalks had surged from around 200 to nearly 2,000.

“Even ambulance movement in front of hospitals is being obstructed. Because of two percent of people, 98 percent are suffering. We do not want the entire city to suffer for a few hawkers,” he said.

He added that hawkers must operate only in designated places and remove their stalls after a fixed time. “The stalls must be mobile -- no permanent or temporary structures will be allowed,” he said.

Shafiqul noted that most urban management efforts are temporary and emphasised the need for long-term planning to ensure sustainable solutions. He also underscored the importance of bringing Wasa, gas, and electricity services under a single coordinating authority.