Do not evict floating hawkers from DU without alternative arrangements

The crowd of floating hawkers is not only the fate of Dhaka University (DU) but also a grim reality for the entire Dhaka city. As there are no suitable employment opportunities in rural areas, helpless people flock to the capital. They try to survive by doing whatever work they can. The easiest way is some small business, which we identify as floating hawking.

Over the past few years, the number of floating hawkers around Dhaka University, Suhrawardy Udyan and Shahbagh has increased visibly. Especially in the central library premises of Dhaka University, it is now hard to tell whether it is a university or a food court full of hundreds of hawkers! There is no shortage of those selling puffed rice and chanachur, various kinds of mashed food, chotpoti, coconuts, or cigarettes. This makes it convenient for students to get whatever they want right at hand. But while floating hawkers create convenience, they also cause crowding and make the surrounding environment dirty.

Meanwhile, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) has started evicting vagrants and hawkers from the university campus. The way they are being evicted has sparked widespread criticism on social media. According to news reports, DUCSU leaders carried out the eviction drive on Saturday night, accompanied by members of the university’s proctorial team. DUCSU leaders say that many of those being evicted are drug addicts and vagrants, and their presence disrupts the safety of students on campus.

On the other hand, in protest against the eviction, hawkers and small food stall owners staged a demonstration on campus on Saturday night. They said they have been running shops on the campus for 20–30 years to earn their living. If they are suddenly evicted without any arrangement for their shops, how will they survive? However, the administration claims that even after repeatedly writing to the Department of Social Welfare, they have failed to stop the floating population. They simply do not want to leave the campus.

The issue has undoubtedly become complicated from both sides. Firstly, the crowd of floating hawkers on the DU campus must certainly be reduced in some way or another. A university campus can by no means be allowed to become so chaotic. Secondly, what will happen to those hawkers who have depended on this campus for many years—where will they suddenly go now?

It is also true that the administration cannot possibly provide a fixed place for thousands of floating hawkers. The problem originated in the first place due to the lack of proper planning. The same has happened in many other sectors. Almost all the pavements of Dhaka are occupied by hawkers, and even if the government wants, it can no longer evict them. Auto-rickshaws have become deadly death traps, yet the government cannot remove them either. These reflect the government’s lack of foresight.

Now, as hawkers cannot be evicted from Dhaka University, some are suggesting moving the university itself elsewhere—a plan like cutting off the head to cure a headache. The complexity that has arisen at Dhaka University over the eviction of hawkers requires a proper solution rather than arguments and counter-arguments. DUCSU and the university administration can certainly carry out evictions if they wish, but they should consider continuing the operation in a humane way by providing the hawkers with a permanent place and giving them some time. The sudden way in which DUCSU and the administration have launched the eviction drive makes it seem as if they are trying to evict some huge mafia network. We want the administration to be a little more compassionate towards helpless people rather than being harsh.