IPD Expresses Grave Concern Over Capital's New Hawker Policy, Warns of Urban Disaster
DHAKA, BANGLADESH — The Institute for Planning and Development (IPD) has raised deep concerns regarding the Local Government Division’s newly introduced policy on hawker management in the capital. The urban planning think tank warned that allowing hawkers to occupy sidewalks and roads in an unplanned and short-sighted manner could trigger a catastrophic breakdown in city life and urban mobility.
In a press statement issued by IPD Executive Director Professor Dr. Adil Muhammad Khan, the organization emphasized that the hawker crisis is no longer confined to Dhaka alone. It has evolved into a major impediment to pedestrian movement, public safety, and general urban governance across almost all municipal areas in Bangladesh. Consequently, the IPD urged the government to formulate and rigorously enforce an integrated national hawker management policy that covers all urban centers across the country, rather than limiting focus to the Dhaka North and Dhaka South City Corporations.
While the organization acknowledged that a formal policy framework for urban street vendors has been long overdue, it expressed astonishment at the execution strategy. The think tank pointed out that implementing the policy without rigorous planning analysis has led to hawkers reclaiming both pavements and active roadways, completely erasing the temporary relief pedestrians had recently experienced.
The IPD strongly asserted that sidewalks and public roads are designated exclusively for the unhindered movement of citizens. It raised serious questions regarding the legal validity of state mechanisms restricting public movement to grant commercial opportunities to a specific group. Furthermore, the think tank noted that this system fosters highly unequal competition for legitimate shopkeepers and market merchants who operate by paying regular trade licenses, holding tax, and other government fees.
A major point of contention highlighted by the IPD is the policy's provision that sets aside a mere 5 to 6 feet of clearance for pedestrians, a space the agency decried as completely inadequate. According to international and modern city-planning standards, metropolitan residential areas require sidewalks that are at least 8 to 10 feet wide, while commercial zones demand a width of 10 to 16 feet. In central, highly dense commercial districts, the standard pedestrian clearance should ideally range between 20 and 40 feet to ensure safety.
Additionally, the newly enacted policy permits hawkers to set up stalls just 30 to 40 feet away from strategic urban infrastructure, including metro rail stations, bus terminals, and major traffic intersections. The IPD counter-argued that global urban standards strictly prohibit street vending within at least a 150-foot radius of such critical transit hubs to prevent severe gridlocks and crowd management failures.
Despite these sharp criticisms, the IPD did highlight several progressive components within the government's policy text. It lauded the initiatives to formally designate holiday markets, operate night markets, and establish strict hawker-free zones. The planning body also highly commended the state's proposal to integrate marginalized, low-income hawkers into institutional social safety net programs.
However, the execution gaps remain glaring. Although the policy outlines the issuance of formal licenses and identity cards to street vendors, the IPD expressed concern over the total absence of biometric verification guidelines and the lack of a transparent system to publish area-wise vendor registries. The think tank also termed the exclusion of general citizen representatives from the central hawker management committees as deeply worrying.
The IPD cautioned that if the current unlawful occupation of footpaths is institutionalized under the guise of this new policy, public suffering will escalate dramatically. The organization maintained that while genuinely impoverished vendors must be identified and supported through robust social security structures, legalizing the illegal occupation of public assets in the name of rehabilitation is a flawed approach.
The press statement concluded by stressing that a permanent solution to the hawker crisis must bridge the gap between temporary rehabilitation and long-term poverty alleviation strategies. The IPD called on the interim administration to launch strict, uncompromising crackdowns against entrenched hawker syndicates, local extortionists, and politically influential groups who profit off street vending. Professor Adil Muhammad Khan reiterated that cleaning up the sidewalks will ultimately require the highest level of political will and an unwavering commitment from the state authorities.
