The government on Monday decided to defer the eviction of hawkers from footpaths in the busy areas of Dhaka city in response to fervent appeals by the hawkers’ leaders to stop the drives that were planned to be launched from 1 November, 2010.
The decision was taken at a meeting with officials of concerned ministries and agencies and hawkers’ leaders at the secretariat with communications minister Syed Abul Hossain in the chair.
‘The authorities were supposed to launch eviction drives on November 1 to ease traffic congestion in the capital, but we are now delaying the move at the request of the hawkers’ leaders,’ Abul Hossain told reporters after the meeting which focussed on preventing traffic congestion.
The leaders of the hawker on Sunday also demanded prior rehabilitation before the launching of any eviction drives, said officials.
The decision to evict hawkers without any rehabilitation programme has been criticised by many socio-political organisations.
The Jatyia Samajtantrik Dal has threatened the government with movements if the hawkers were evicted without prior rehabilitation.
The meeting also decided not to allow any vehicle without a registration number to ply the capital’s roads. ‘The number plates of any motorised vehicle bearing “On Test” or “Applied for Registration” will not be allowed in the city,’ said an officer who attended the meeting.
Moreover, the wearing of helmets by motorcycle riders and fastening of seatbelts by drivers and passengers of all four-wheelers will be made mandatory from November 1, he added.
The government was going to launch special drives to evict hawkers and remove illegal establishments from footpaths in the busy areas of the capital from November 1 to ease traffic congestion, now a major problem for city dwellers.
