Sylhet city pedestrians pushed off footpaths by street hawkers

Only a few years back, footpaths of Sylhet city were rarely occupied by illegal makeshift shops, but the scenario has changed.

Now it is hard to find any road or footpath without hawkers as business on footpaths thrives every day, making the pedestrians suffer terribly.

In the main city areas, including greater Bandarbazar, Zindbazar, Chowhatta, Sobhanighat, Amberkhana, Shibganj and Mirabazar, it is seen that hawkers are running their business in makeshift structures built on the footpaths, forcing the pedestrians to walk on the road risking their lives.

"I was heading towards Chowhatta from Zindabazar on foot but I could not walk on as the footpath was fully occupied by hawkers. When I asked a trader to make way, he urged me to take the road!" said Debjyoti Debu, 30, a private job holder.

Not only that, some drivers also park their vehicles illegally on the roads making the situation worse still.

Pedestrians say this scenario is quite common in the areas, and even Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) parks its vehicles everywhere, defying the traffic rules.

Sylhet City Corporation. Photo: Sheikh Nasir

The situation has reached such a level that not only the pedestrians, but the conscious residents of the city are also seeing it as alarming.

Hawkers have also occupied the footpaths in many government office areas including Sylhet judge's court, Sylhet post office, Customs Office, SCC, and police posts.

The district judge's court. Photo: Sheikh Nasir

Indirect support of the district administration, SCC, and police towards the footpath grabbers and their indifference to controlling it make the situation worse, said Faruk Mahmud Chowdhury, president of the Sylhet chapter of SHUJAN, a civil society organisation.

Several hawkers' rights organisations in connivance with some corrupt politicians occupied the footpaths and a portion of the roads and rented them out to hawkers, he added.

Authorities like SCC and local law administration are responsible for the situation, he said, adding that they should take necessary steps as footpath grabbing is becoming rampant day by day.

Sylhet Head Post Office. Photo: Sheikh Nasir

Not only the citizens, owners of different business institutions are also facing several problems for the makeshift shops, said Salah Uddin Ali Ahmed, president of the Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

"We arranged a lot of roundtables, seminars and sent a number of letters to the authorities concerned, but they are not responding to the problem," he added.

A hawker, sitting in front of Sylhet post office, said they have to pay Tk 40 to Tk 200 to the leaders of hawkers' rights organisations depending on their business and the space they get on the footpath.

The leaders told them that the money is distributed among different levels of the higher authorities, he said.

Hasan Market. It is alleged that business is going on there because of indirect support of the local administration and police in exchange for money. Photo: Sheikh Nasir

Rokib Hosen, a local hawkers' leader, said these poor hawkers have nowhere to go. That's why they help them set up businesses on the footpath without disturbing the pedestrians, he added.

However, denying the allegation SCC Chief Executive Officer Enamul Habib said the eviction of the footpath grabbers is not possible by SCC alone. A joint operation with police and the district administration is necessary, he told The Daily Star.

Rahmat Ullah, additional commissioner (media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police, said police are aware of the situation and trying their level best to make the footpaths free from hawkers.

To solve the problem permanently they need cooperation from SCC and the district administration, he added.