Khulna hawkers surround city corporation office demanding end to evictions, submit memorandum

Hawkers in Khulna city surrounded the Nagar Bhaban and demonstrated, demanding an end to hawker evictions and their rehabilitation. Hundreds of hawkers staged a sit-in in front of the Nagar Bhaban for about an hour and a half, from 11:30 am to 1 pm on Tuesday (10 November).

As they sat on the road behind barricades, traffic came to a halt on KD Ghosh Road from the DC office to Society Cinema Hall. Leaders of the Khulna Mahanagar Hawkers Union later handed a memorandum with their demands to Khulna City Corporation Administrator Nazrul Islam Manju.

In the memorandum, the hawker leaders said rootless people run small shops at various places in the city, and this is their main source of livelihood. But over the past few weeks, hawkers have been evicted from Dakbangla, Khalishpur, Daulatpur, Nirala and other areas.

At the time, they were told the drive was temporary, carried out ahead of the Prime Minister's visit to Khulna. But the memorandum says that assurance has not been reflected in reality.

They said they agree that roads and footpaths are for vehicles and pedestrians. But they said large shops display their goods on the footpaths, narrowing the space for movement. The hawkers claimed they trade at specific places with the consent of the police administration.

According to the hawkers, the main customers of their shops are lower- and middle-income families of the city, who depend on these shops to buy essential goods at low prices. Their business is therefore not only their livelihood, but also a means of shopping for people in the city and surrounding upazilas and villages.

The memorandum demanded that hawkers be allowed to resume business at their previous places, including Khalishpur, Daulatpur and Dakbangla, that evictions without a proper policy be stopped, and that damage or looting of goods during drives be prevented.

It also called on the city corporation to formulate a policy on who will trade where and how.

Mizanur Rahman Babu, chief adviser of the Khulna Mahanagar Hawkers Union and president of the city Communist Party, said the memorandum had been submitted to the administrator with their demands. If the demands are not met, he said, they will stage a continuous sit-in and hunger strike in front of the Nagar Bhaban.

Also present were Hawkers Union President Saleh Mohammad Talha, General Secretary Md. Sanu, Baby Taxi Workers Union President Ashraf Ali, TUC leader S M Chandan and others.

Receiving the memorandum, City Corporation Administrator Nazrul Islam Manju assured them that he would take prompt steps to resolve the problem.