STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) yesterday launched coordinated initiatives to ensure pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, regulate activities of hawkers and rehabilitate them through structured systems and digital identification.

At DSCC’s Nagar Bhaban auditorium, Administrator Md Abdus Salam formally inaugurated hawker rehabilitation activities under the proposed “Dhaka City Hawker Management Policy–2026”.

Under the new policy, QR code-enabled digital ID cards and specific locations with operating hours have been designated to hawkers across key areas, including Gulistan, Motijheel, New Market, and Shahjahanpur. Some locations will operate as daily markets, while others will function as evening markets between 6:00pm and 10:00pm.

As part of the initiative, 100 hawkers from the Gulistan area were issued digital IDs and relocated to the link road adjacent to Ramna Bhaban.

Md Salam said the initiative, taken under the prime minister’s directive, aims to create safer, more organised streets while improving the livelihoods of marginal communities through a humane, transformative effort.

DSCC CEO Md Zahirul Islam said the digital ID system would ensure transparency and accountability while allowing traffic police to easily verify vendors’ legality and assigned locations, adding that at least 5–6 feet

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