PM orders swift rehabilitation of evicted street hawkers in Dhaka

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today (25 April) directed the
authorities concerned to ensure the swift rehabilitation of street hawkers
evicted from various areas of the capital, calling for coordinated efforts to
identify suitable alternative locations for their resettlement.
He gave the instruction during a
meeting held at the prime minister's office in the afternoon.
Senior officials from the Local
Government Division, Dhaka North and South City Corporations, Rajdhani Unnayan
Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) attended the
meeting, said a PMO release.
The prime minister instructed the relevant ministries and
agencies to work in coordination to quickly identify designated vending zones
where displaced hawkers can continue their businesses in a dignified and
orderly manner.
He said the relocated vendors must
be provided with spaces where they can operate comfortably.
Recently, several hundred makeshift
shops were evicted from key areas of Dhaka North City Corporation, including
Mirpur-1, as well as from Dhaka South City Corporation areas such as Motijheel,
Baitul Mukarram, Paltan and Gulistan.
The meeting decided that the
government would arrange alternative locations for the evicted vendors.
It also discussed introducing a registration system to issue identity cards to
hawkers to ensure better regulation of their activities.
The prime minister stressed the
need to reduce traffic congestion during school opening and closing hours,
noting that unmanaged parking in front of educational institutions often
contributes to gridlock.
He suggested that a portion of the
school grounds could be used for parking to help ease congestion.
Local Government Division Secretary
Shahidul Hasan, Rajuk Chairman Engineer Riazul Islam, Dhaka South City
Corporation Administrator Abdus Salam, Dhaka North City Corporation
Administrator Shafiqur Rahman Khan, DMP Acting Commissioner Md Sarwar and DIG
(Traffic) Anisur Rahman were present.
















