Hawkers cannot sit in crowded and busy areas during the day
Photo Collected
The objective of the policy is to ensure safe movement of pedestrians and improve the quality of life of hawkers. Markets cannot be set up in playgrounds, school grounds or cemeteries. Violation of rules will result in cancellation of registration.
After a long time of criticism regarding the encroachment of footpaths and roads, traffic jams, obstruction of pedestrians and uncontrolled activities of hawkers in the capital Dhaka, the government has made the ‘Dhaka City Hawker Management Policy-2026’. The policy, issued by the local government department, for the first time lays down the detailed framework for registration of hawkers, business in designated areas, holiday and night markets, license fees and administrative supervision.
বিজ্ঞাপন
According to the policy, hawkers cannot sit in crowded and busy areas of Dhaka during the day. In those areas where the traffic pressure is reduced after the end of the office, the night market can be opened from evening till 10 pm.
The main objectives of this policy are to ensure safe movement of pedestrians, improve the quality of life of hawkers, create employment, develop clean cities and identify designated areas for hawkers.
বিজ্ঞাপন
In the preamble to the policy, the government said, due to the long-term uncontrolled hawker activities in Dhaka, the movement of pedestrians is being disrupted, traffic congestion is increasing and chaos is being created in the city management. At the same time, as the livelihood of a large number of low-income people is linked to this sector, there is a need to bring the whole issue into an integrated framework.
As per the policy, a ‘Hawker Management Committee’ will be constituted under the City Corporation. Through this committee, hawkers will be registered with digital identity cards for a fixed period. The registration process is said to be completed within one month of application. The applicant must be at least 18 years of age for registration and must be a citizen of Bangladesh. The registration will be valid for the specified period. It has to be renewed by paying fee at the end of the period.
In the information form prescribed for hawkers, various information including name, address, date of birth, educational qualification, what kind of products to sell, which area to do business and number of family members should be given.
Registration and designated areas for hawkers.
Night market from evening to 10 pm in populated and busy areas.
Applicant must be at least 18 years of age for registration.
‘Holiday Market’ and ‘Night Market’ in certain areas on public holidays, Fridays and Saturdays.
On public holidays, Fridays and Saturdays, there is an opportunity to open ‘Holiday Market’ in certain areas. These markets can be operated from 9 am to 5 pm. These markets can sit on the road in front of government offices, in front of educational institutions or in special areas designated by the city corporation. According to the policy, the holiday market will mainly focus on family shopping. Along with food, children’s entertainment can also be arranged there.
And in the areas where there is heavy traffic during the day but the population pressure is reduced at night, there is an opportunity to open ‘Night Market’. These markets can be operated from 6 pm to 10 pm after the end of office. However, it is clearly mentioned that no market can be set up in playgrounds, school grounds, public parks, places of worship or graveyards.
In this regard, it is mentioned in the policy that this market can be set up in the populated areas like Mirpur, Gulistan, Newmarket, Sadarghat and Baitul Mokaram after office hours from 6 pm to 10 pm.
According to the policy, only one person per family will get license or allotment. No one other than the registered person can use that space. The allottee cannot rent or transfer the space to anyone else. The hawkers have to close the business within the prescribed time and the authorities can take action if they do business outside the prescribed time. Business cannot be done by blocking the road entry or exit. Apart from this, provision of healthy food has been made mandatory when selling food products. At the same time, to keep the environment clean, waste should be thrown in the designated bin.
No market shall be set up in playgrounds, school grounds, public parks, places of worship or cemeteries.
Damage to public or private establishments or violation of policy conditions can also result in cancellation of registration.
Registration will be canceled if license is not renewed one month before expiry.
The policy calls for immediate action in case of illegal or unauthorized hawkers. Damage to public or private establishments or violation of policy conditions can also result in cancellation of registration. The policy also states that the authorities can declare any area hawker-free if necessary. Registration will be canceled if license is not renewed one month before expiry.
Adil Muhammad Khan, executive director of the Institute for Planning and Development (IPD), an organization working on urban planning, while seeing this new policy as a positive initiative, expressed doubts about its implementation. He said, the need for a policy was long, so this initiative of the government is undoubtedly positive. However, the way in which hawker management and the right of movement of pedestrians on the sidewalks is thought to be coordinated is quite questionable. This plan is against the norms of modern town-planning.
He felt that the policy did not take into account the variation in road size and characteristics of different areas. He said, according to him, the way hawkers are currently occupying the sidewalks, if it is institutionalized through this policy, there is a risk of increasing public suffering. This is creating a dangerous institutional settlement. The new government will be expected to consider the problem of hawkers not only as a management issue but also as a permanent and humane solution from the perspective of poverty alleviation, giving due importance to the right of free movement of people.
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