Hawkers should be rehabilitated before eviction

Recently, both the Dhaka city corporations have resumed their eviction drives to remove the hawkers from pavements. We are not against a hawker-free, clean Dhaka. But my concern is that if the hawkers are evicted from the city, where will they go? Will they go back to their village? Never. Will they leave their slums? No. Instead, they may get involved in criminal activities. As a result, the law and order situation of the city would further deteriorate.

If the government wants to reduce the number of hawkers, the task should be done gradually and by way of rehabilitating. Instead of completely evicting them, the hawkers should be given specific places in the city for doing their business. Efforts like 'Holiday Market' in Motijhil are a good step forward. Also, agro-based industries in villages may help reduce the number of people coming to the city from rural areas.

Md. Razu, BSMRMU