At Chattogram’s New Market intersection, it has become difficult to tell whether the area is a road or a marketplace after noon.Hawkers occupy all four connecting roads, setting up makeshift shops on footpaths and blocking movement, forcing pedestrians to walk on the streets and causing severe traffic congestion that stretches over a kilometre.
From New Market to Kotwali intersection in the east, hawkers have taken over the entire sidewalk. The same scene extends west to Battali Old Railway Station via Station Road, south to City College intersection and north to Teen Puler Matha, leaving no room for pedestrians.
Commuter Mohammad Zakaria told the TIMES , “Every day I get stuck here. Hawkers block the roads, traffic jams never end, and everyone suffers.” Another pedestrian, Anwar Hossain, said, “Half of the road is occupied by shops. There’s no space on the footpath, so we walk in the middle of the road.”
According to Chattogram City Corporation (CCC), the city has about 300 kilometres of footpaths. However, more than 25,000 hawkers set up stalls daily from 3pm to 11pm at different intersections. Each vendor occupies an average of four feet, meaning around 30 kilometres—or over one-tenth—of the city’s total footpath remains under hawkers’ control.
CCC Secretary Mohammad Ashraful Amin said, “In some areas, hawkers have been completely removed, while in others, we’ve set fixed hours. We can’t take away so many people’s livelihoods at once, but we’re also considering pedestrian convenience.”
Mohammad Miron Hossain Milon, president of Chattogram Sammilito Hawkers’ Federation, said, “We operate only at designated times and places set by the CCC. We don’t want to cause trouble for the public, but we have no alternative means of earning.”
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Srima Chakma said, “We regularly evict hawkers, but they return soon after. Without a long-term solution, this cannot be stopped.”
Urban planner Engineer Subhash Barua said, “Footpaths cannot be cleared without rehabilitating hawkers. The government must show intent, and citizens must cooperate. Building designated hawker markets would save livelihoods while allowing pedestrians to walk freely.”
