Commuters suffer as hawkers reclaim Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Rupganj

RUPGANJ, NARAYANGANJ, Oct 29: Hawkers have once again occupied large sections of the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Bhulta-Gausia area of Rupganj, Narayanganj, leaving little room for traffic and causing severe congestion and hardship for passengers and pedestrians.

Vendors have set up stalls selling fish, vegetables, fruits, clothes, shoes and other goods on both sides of the highway. Some sell their products from vans, further narrowing the road and disrupting the movement of long-distance vehicles.

Locals blamed inadequate monitoring by highway police for the renewed occupation.

A visit to the area found roadside markets and shops operating beside the Bhulta Highway Police Camp itself. From Majid Plaza to Redwan Tower, vendors occupy one side of the highway with fresh produce and the other with clothes, shoes and fruit stalls.

More than a hundred makeshift shops selling bananas, coconuts and sugarcane have sprung up beneath the Bhulta and Golakandail flyovers. Bedding shops and over a hundred rent-a-car businesses also operate in the area.

The highway is further crowded with pickup vans, CNG-run auto-rickshaws, battery-powered rickshaws, private cars and bus counters and stands, including those of Meghla, Gausia, Glory and DTL. Vehicles, particularly CNG-run auto-rickshaws and other three-wheelers travelling against traffic, also contribute to congestion and accidents in the Bhulta-Golakandail area.

The occupation has left three of the highway's four lanes blocked across nearly one kilometre, from Majid Plaza in Golakandail to Gausia Market and Redwan Tower. Hundreds of makeshift shops operate there from morning until late at night.

Locals alleged that vendors had to pay Tk 7,000�"10,000 in advance, and in some cases as much as Tk 50,000, to set up shops on the highway. They also alleged that some vendors pay Tk 300 daily, ostensibly for cleaning, to people controlling the occupied areas.

Despite several eviction drives, the highway and footpaths have repeatedly fallen back into the hands of vendors. The Rupganj administration conducted two or three drives last year and another two or three in March and April this year. However, vendors returned within days.

Traffic congestion remains severe for much of the year along the Dhaka-Sylhet highway, particularly from Bhulta to Barpa and Rupshi. Some locals also attributed the congestion to ongoing highway repair work.

When contacted, Narayanganj-1 lawmaker Mustafizur Rahman Bhuiyan Dipu said the illegal vendors should be rehabilitated elsewhere to ease public sufferings and ensure a lasting solution to traffic congestion.

Narayanganj District BNP General Secretary Golam Faruk Khokon said the Dhaka-Sylhet highway was an important transport route and should not be allowed to remain occupied.

“The illegal occupants must be evicted at any cost to restore the road for traffic,” he said, adding that regular monitoring by the local administration could improve conditions for passengers and pedestrians.

Bhulta Highway Police Officer-in-Charge Jasim Uddin said eviction drives against illegal occupants were continuing. He said traffic congestion would ease after the highway widening work was completed, adding that relocating small traders elsewhere would help improve traffic flow.

Officer-in-Charge of Rupganj Police Station AHM Salahuddin said allegations of extortion from vendors occupying the highway would be investigated and necessary action taken.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer SM Abdullah-bin-Shafique, who joined the post last month, said he had visited the area four times to assess the situation and informed the authorities concerned.