Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan has said there are plans to build temporary markets in six open fields to rehabilitate street vendors currently occupying Dhaka’s footpaths.
Street vendors will be allowed to operate in these designated areas through a registration system, while maintenance of the sites will be managed through a fixed fee, he said this morning while speaking as chief guest at an urban dialogue, titled “Is Dhaka Becoming a Dead City? What Needs to Be Done?”, held at a hotel in Gulshan.
The event was organised by the Urban Development Journalists Forum Bangladesh and chaired by its president Matin Abdullah. The keynote paper was presented by urban rights activist and Gulshan Society President Barrister Omar Sadat, while special guest remarks were delivered by Rajuk Chairman Engineer Md Riazul Islam.
The DNCC administrator said the number of hawkers on sidewalks had surged from around 200 to nearly 2,000, causing major public inconvenience.
“Even ambulance movement in front of hospitals is being obstructed. Because of two percent of people, 98 percent are suffering. We do not want the entire city to suffer for a few hawkers,” he said.
He added that hawkers must operate only in designated places and remove their stalls after a fixed time.
“The stalls must be mobile -- no permanent or temporary structures will be allowed,” he said.
Shafiqul noted that most urban management efforts are temporary and emphasised the need for long-term planning to ensure sustainable solutions. He also underscored the importance of bringing Wasa, gas, and electricity services under a single coordinating authority.
On waste management, mosquito control, and canal cleaning, he stressed the need for public involvement. Referring to Mirpur’s Paris Canal, he said it had been cleaned seven times in the past two months but continued to be polluted. Authorities are considering imposing fines on those who dump waste on canal banks.
Barrister Omar Sadat said Dhaka is facing a severe crisis that is pushing it towards becoming a “dead city”.
Saving Dhaka, he said, would require not only infrastructure development but also leadership capacity, accountability and data-driven decision-making.
Rajuk Chairman Md Riazul Islam said bringing urban services under a single authority would reduce coordination gaps and improve service quality. He noted that a lack of data often hampers proper planning.
Architect Sujauol Islam Khan said planning alone is insufficient without implementation, noting that most urban facilities are concentrated among the elite five percent in areas such as Gulshan and Banani, while places like Korail slum remain deprived.
Deputy Transport Planner Dhruvo Alam of the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority said a 20-year public transport plan is underway. Bus routes are being reduced from 42 to 32, with a single company operating on each route to improve discipline. The plan is expected to be implemented within this year.
Others present at the event included urban planner Dr Adil Muhammad Khan, entomologist Dr Indrani Dhar, environmental lawyer Syed Mahbubul Alam, and Wasa Additional Chief Engineer Alamgir Hasin Ahmed.
