Encroachment of pavements

The road infrastructure of a country should be pedestrian-friendly but unfortunately its absence is very much felt in our country

Illegal encroachment of pavements has been a major problem in Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) area for a long time. According to a report in this newspaper on Saturday, even after repeated eviction, encroachers reoccupy pavements, allegedly with the help of syndicates. Not only in Rajshahi, this is happening in almost all the cities and towns in the country. This menace not only causes sufferings to passers-by, it is also responsible for increasing number of road accidents in the cities in recent times.    
The road infrastructure of a country should be pedestrian-friendly but unfortunately its absence is very much felt in our country. Pavements are for   the pedestrians who can walk along those safely and freely, but almost all the pavements alongside the major thoroughfares remain occupied by hawkers and others despite drives by the authorities concerned from time to time. Pedestrians constitute a major segment of the urban population but it seems that the urban planners have given preference to privately owned cars not the pedestrians. As a result, the pedestrians suffer; people using crutch, white cane and wheel chair and other physically challenged ones bear the brunt of the situation. The city corporations are responsible for maintaining the footpaths in the country but many pavements are under illegal occupation, creating obstacles to free pedestrian movement.
Thousands of illegal makeshift shops have sprung up in the different areas of the cities, forcing the pedestrians to use the main roads. Using main roads by pedestrians is hazardous as it may cause accidents apart from triggering traffic jams. There are some overpasses in the cities but it is difficult for the people who have crossed 50 to use those. The underpasses have been constructed for easy movement of pedestrians but movement through those also poses problems some times.  
 Pavements and footpaths can be freed from illegal occupation for uninterrupted movement of pedestrians. But eviction drives conducted by the relevant authorities at times to restore the footpaths is not a sustainable solution. The hawkers who are allegedly backed up by police and local political leaders return to the previous places after the drives and rebuild their structures. So, eviction of thousands of hawkers overnight from footpaths without making alternative arrangements for their livelihood will not be prudent. The authorities will have to handle the issue of the hawkers with care.        

 

Encroachment of pavements

The road infrastructure of a country should be pedestrian-friendly but unfortunately its absence is very much felt in our country

Illegal encroachment of pavements has been a major problem in Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) area for a long time. According to a report in this newspaper on Saturday, even after repeated eviction, encroachers reoccupy pavements, allegedly with the help of syndicates. Not only in Rajshahi, this is happening in almost all the cities and towns in the country. This menace not only causes sufferings to passers-by, it is also responsible for increasing number of road accidents in the cities in recent times. The road infrastructure of a country should be pedestrian-friendly but unfortunately its absence is very much felt in our country. Pavements are for the pedestrians who can walk along those safely and freely, but almost all the pavements alongside the major thoroughfares remain occupied by hawkers and others despite drives by the authorities concerned from time to time. Pedestrians constitute a major segment of the urban population but it seems that the urban planners have given preference to privately owned cars not the pedestrians. As a result, the pedestrians suffer; people using crutch, white cane and wheel chair and other physically challenged ones bear the brunt of the situation. The city corporations are responsible for maintaining the footpaths in the country but many pavements are under illegal occupation, creating obstacles to free pedestrian movement. Thousands of illegal makeshift shops have sprung up in the different areas of the cities, forcing the pedestrians to use the main roads. Using main roads by pedestrians is hazardous as it may cause accidents apart from triggering traffic jams. There are some overpasses in the cities but it is difficult for the people who have crossed 50 to use those. The underpasses have been constructed for easy movement of pedestrians but movement through those also poses problems some times. Pavements and footpaths can be freed from illegal occupation for uninterrupted movement of pedestrians. But eviction drives conducted by the relevant authorities at times to restore the footpaths is not a sustainable solution. The hawkers who are allegedly backed up by police and local political leaders return to the previous places after the drives and rebuild their structures. So, eviction of thousands of hawkers overnight from footpaths without making alternative arrangements for their livelihood will not be prudent. The authorities will have to handle the issue of the hawkers with care.