DSCC Warns Hawkers of Seizure, Legal Cases

Bangla Press Desk:  Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has warned that hawkers occupying roads and footpaths outside approved locations will face eviction, seizure of their goods and legal action.

DSCC Administrator Abdus Salam issued the warning on Thursday during an inspection in Dhalpur, where he reviewed cleanliness, removal of illegal encroachments and public inconvenience.

Salam said hawkers would only be allowed to operate at locations designated and approved by the city corporation.

Specific footpaths and spots have already been set aside for them, he said, but hawking would not be allowed elsewhere, including on the main road from Zero Point to Sadarghat.

Registration with the city corporation is compulsory, and no unregistered hawker will be allowed to operate in the capital.

Those who return to footpaths after eviction will now have their goods seized and cases filed on the spot.

Asked about notices and rehabilitation, the administrator said the government had decided after repeated meetings with hawker leaders, so fresh notices were not needed.

On rehabilitation, he urged reporters to frame their questions around what Dhaka residents who pay tax to the city corporation want.

During the inspection, Salam voiced displeasure at the hardship caused by slow work by the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) at the entrance of DSCC Regional Office 5.

Thousands of people seeking services there suffer every day, according to him. WASA and other service agencies have been told to finish road digging in a coordinated manner within the set time.

For a lasting fix, service agencies are meeting every 15 days under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to improve coordination, Salam said.

WASA, the city corporation, the Telegraph and Telephone (T&T) department and the Power Division are working together to untangle the longstanding problems.