Published: 12:00 AM, 06 October 2026
Footpath Eviction Drive: A Permanent Solution Is Needed
Amir Mohammed Khosru
In the major cities of our country, particularly in the capital Dhaka and Chattogram, as well as in other metropolitan areas, “footpath eviction drives” have become a very familiar scene. At regular intervals, eviction drives are conducted with bulldozers, magistrates and large contingents of police. Photographs appear in newspapers, the drives become headlines on television channels, and senior officials of the relevant authorities make strong declarations about returning the footpaths to pedestrians. But soon after the cameras move away, or within a few days, the familiar picture returns. The footpath that was cleared in the afternoon is once again occupied by rows of hawkers calling out to customers the next morning. These drives are assumed merely a drama staged for public display as there is no any far-reaching vision of genuine urban planning behind them.
One of the primary conditions of a modern and livable city is to ensure safe and proper movement for pedestrians. A footpath is not merely a road; it is the lifeline of urban life. Yet, if we look at the major cities of our country, it can be seen that there is no opportunity to walk freely on nearly 80 percent of the footpaths. In some places, hawkers’ stalls and plastic tarpaulins occupy the space; in others, temporary tea stalls; while elsewhere, construction materials of multi-storey buildings or privately parked cars have taken over the footpaths. The consequences are extremely serious. Having no way to walk on the footpaths, ordinary people are forced to come down onto the main roads. As a result, alongside severe traffic congestion, serious road accidents are occurring regularly. For elderly people, children and persons with disabilities, moving around the city streets has now become tantamount to risking their lives. The footpath that was supposed to provide pedestrians with a safe means of walking has today turned into a trap of suffering and accidents.
Over the past several decades, we have witnessed hundreds of eviction drives, but it is natural to question the effectiveness of these operations. In most cases, these drives revolve around a specific cycle. First, the city corporation suddenly conducts a drive one day and temporarily demolishes some stalls or makeshift shops. During the operation, the drive receives extensive coverage in the media. However, a few hours or one or two days after the magistrate leaves, the hawkers return to the same place with even greater enthusiasm and set up their goods for sale again. If the ultimate outcome of these drives, conducted by spending millions of taka and using state resources and manpower, is ultimately zero, then what else can they be called except activities staged for public display? Conducting only temporary drives without any effective monitoring mechanism means suppressing the symptoms temporarily instead of treating the root disease.
To understand why a permanent solution to footpath encroachment is not being achieved, we must understand the huge illegal economy that has developed around the footpaths. The main obstacle to making footpath eviction drives permanent is not the ordinary hawkers themselves, but rather an invisible and powerful syndicate operating behind them. Research has shown that in major cities, huge amounts of extortion take place around the occupation of individual footpath shops. A strong network formed through the coordination of influential local political leaders, some dishonest police members and extortionists known as “linemen” controls this system. Every day, crores of taka in cash are collected from hawkers, a large portion of which reaches the pockets of influential individuals. Therefore, if an area becomes completely free of footpath encroachment, a huge source of illegal income comes to an end. For this reason, this powerful syndicate never wants the footpaths to remain permanently free. When an eviction drive takes place, the syndicate temporarily retreats somewhat into the background, but after a few days, they themselves again rehabilitate the hawkers on the footpaths and continue collecting their dues.
While discussing the removal of footpath encroachment, there is no opportunity to ignore another reality of our society. There is a severe shortage of formal employment opportunities in our country. Thousands of people who are unemployed, displaced by river erosion or pushed out of the rural economy choose hawking as a profession to make a living. This small business is one of the means of self-employment that requires very little capital. When, in the name of eviction drives, a hawker’s goods are suddenly destroyed or confiscated, that family is effectively pushed toward extreme hunger and a humanitarian crisis. If hawkers are merely driven away by force without showing them an alternative source of income or developing an effective rehabilitation plan, it is not only inhumane but also unrealistic. Driven by the need to feed themselves and survive, the hawker will be forced to return to the streets the very next day. Therefore, it is not possible to solve the economic and social crisis of millions of people simply through legal strictness or the use of batons.
Many major developed and developing cities around the world have also faced the problem of hawkers, but instead of playing the game of repeated evictions, they have developed sustainable and modern solutions. For example, in various cities of neighboring India, as well as in cities such as Bangkok and Singapore, hawkers have been recognized as a part of the urban system and brought under specific rules and regulations. First, the entire city has been divided into “vending zones” and “non-vending zones.” Important commercial areas and the busiest intersections have been strictly declared “non-vending zones,” where all kinds of hawking are prohibited, while hawkers are allowed to sit for specified periods in convenient, less-busy locations. Second, biometric information of each hawker has been collected, digital databases have been created and valid cards have been issued so that outsiders cannot newly occupy the footpaths and extortion can be stopped. At the same time, on certain roads, opportunities have been provided for a time-sharing system at night or after office hours. Finally, instead of relying solely on the administration or police, monitoring committees have been formed involving local residents, pedestrians, hawker representatives and civil society, ensuring regular post-eviction monitoring.
Keeping footpaths safe and free for pedestrian movement is one of the primary responsibilities of urban authorities. However, temporary drives staged for public display or one-sided evictions will never bring a permanent result in fulfilling this responsibility. It is now time to stop wasting taxpayers’ money by merely displaying manpower and force. A clear and specific policy is needed for a permanent solution to the problem. On the one hand, there must be zero tolerance in law enforcement and the extortionists at the root of the system must be eliminated; on the other hand, considering the lives and livelihoods of hawkers, they must gradually be brought under rehabilitation at designated locations.
The real success of urban planners and authorities lies in maintaining the right balance between these two objectives: the city’s footpaths will remain free for the movement of pedestrians, while small traders who depend on the footpaths for their livelihoods will also have the opportunity to earn a living in a humane manner. Ending temporary, routine and demonstrative eviction drives and moving toward a permanent solution through political and administrative goodwill is now the only correct path. Removing footpath encroachment is not a one-day event or a public show; it is a continuous, coordinated and well-planned management system.
Amir Mohammed Khosru is a
banker and a columnist.
