Attack on Narayanganj mayor

In order to thwart the move to clear the footpaths of hawkers in Narayanganj, an attack was launched on the mayor of Narayanganj city corporation, her workers and supporters, as well as media persons. The culprits of this reprehensible act must be punished. The police remained silent spectators when the attack took place, pointing to their bias towards the assailants. This nexus between the miscreants and the police pose as a challenge to the rule of law, citizens’ rights and civic life.

It is illegal for hawkers to set up stalls along the footpaths as this obstructs the way for pedestrians. However, repeated moves to remove the hawkers from the footpaths have been foiled time and again. It is obvious that the hawkers have powerful backing, for which the general public are deprived of their right to use the pavements.

Not only in Narayanganj, but in the capital city Dhaka and other places around the country, vested quarters give the hawkers protection to use the footpaths. They use their might to spurn the law in the name of protesting hawkers’ rights. In Narayanganj, this is a notorious group, known for its reign of terror. They had the audacity to open fire on the mayor and her supporters during the attack on Tuesday.

Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy said that the attack was launched on her at the behest of Shameem Osman. Prior to this, Shameem Osman had been addressing a demonstration of the hawkers action council at Chashara in Narayanganj, saying, “This is not a request, but an order. The hawkers will remain on the footpaths. It won’t take two minutes for Shameem Osman to reply to anyone opposing us.” This is a clear threat.

It is fortunate that no lives were taken that day, but there are all indications of unrest in the days to come. Violence must be avoided at all costs. Legal action must be taken against those involved in the Tuesday attack. And the hawkers must be removed from the footpaths in a peaceful manner. The mayor has promised to set up a market for the hawkers. And it is obvious that footpaths are for pedestrians and not places for vending and trade.

The mayor has complained to the Narayanganj deputy commissioner and the police super. This should be taken seriously. The mayor is the elected representative of the people and should be given full cooperation, not the opposite.