Reclaiming Our Footpaths Cannot Become a Street War

We find it deeply concerning that a routine administrative exercise to reclaim public footpaths in Mirpur-10 recently descended into violence, arson and street chaos. The sight of city corporation vehicles set ablaze, a police vehicle vandalised, media personnel harassed, and tear gas filling the air is a sobering reminder of how volatile our capital’s urban governance has become. What should have been a standard drive to restore pedestrian mobility ended in injuries to at least nine police officials, dozens of detentions and the complete paralysis of an already critical traffic artery. 

However, the burning question our city authorities must confront is why these eviction drives repeatedly trigger such fierce resistance. For years, Dhaka’s footpaths have remained under the grip of an unholy nexus of illegal occupants, local syndicates and extortion networks. Pedestrians are routinely forced onto busy main roads, risking life and limb amid endless traffic jams. In principle, Dhaka North City Corporation’s (DNCC) commitment to free public walkways is commendable. Reclaiming these spaces is, after all, essential for a liveable metropolis. Yet simply removing vendors without addressing the system that allows them to return cannot provide a lasting solution.

Concurrently, we must remember that blunt force alone is not a sustainable policy. While the attack on law enforcement and destruction of public property deserve unequivocal condemnation and swift judicial action, the human cost of these drives cannot be brushed aside. Among the violent clashes were ordinary hawkers losing their sole means of sustenance - their vans broken and their meagre investments destroyed in minutes. For thousands of marginalised urban poor, street vending is not a criminal enterprise but a desperate survival strategy in an economy burdened by high living costs and limited formal employment. This reality, of course, does not justify violence, but it does demand a more practical response.

That said, the authorities cannot treat footpath management merely as a recurring law-and-order confrontation. Repeated evictions without alternative livelihoods create a vicious cycle: hawkers return the moment the police leave, or react with violence when backed into a corner. On the other hand, allowing illegal occupation to continue under the guise of compassion surrenders public spaces to chaotic private gain and syndicate exploitation.

What we need now is a balanced, structured and compassionate strategy. The DNCC must move beyond sporadic bulldozer drives towards a transparent, long-term hawker management policy. Establishing designated holiday markets, enforcing strict time-bound vending zones and registering legitimate micro-traders will effectively decouple vulnerable vendors from the criminal syndicates exploiting them. Crucially, administrative precision is paramount; eviction drives must be executed with advance notice to avoid accidental infrastructure damage that routinely ignites public rage.

Ultimately, we consider the reclamation of Dhaka’s footpaths as an indispensable duty of municipal governance. Once implemented transparently, guided by prioritising public safety and paired with realistic rehabilitation, it can restore order to our chaotic streets. But true success lies not in brief administrative victories achieved through tear gas and street battles. It will be whether ordinary citizens can walk safely on cleared footpaths, while ensuring our most vulnerable workers are afforded a dignified path to earn their bread.