Extortion Scale and Statistics on Footpaths
Hawker Population and Daily Collections: The Bangladesh Hawkers Federation estimates that Dhaka North and South City Corporations host approximately 270,000 regular hawkers, a figure that swells to about 320,000 during festive seasons like Eid. With an average daily extortion rate of BDT 300 per hawker, daily collections exceed BDT 80 million. While BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) previously estimated the trade at BDT 1,825 crore, researchers confirm that the figure has now escalated to BDT 3,000 crore.
High-Density Zones: Extortion is most rampant in commercial hotspots such as Gulistan, New Market, Baitul Mukarram, Paltan, Motijheel, Dainik Bangla intersection, Golapshah Mazar, Zero Point, Bangabandhu Avenue, and Fulbaria. However, daily tolls ranging from BDT 200 to 300 are forcibly collected from small shops and mobile vans across almost every alley in Dhaka.
Toll Variations: Extortion rates vary from BDT 100 to BDT 1,500 depending on the size of the table or wooden platform and the nature of goods sold. Additional levies include BDT 100 per lightbulb for electricity and forced "security" fees.
The Extortion Syndicate and Revenue-Sharing Model
Hawker testimonies and research data reveal a structured network through which extorted funds are distributed:
Law Enforcement: 30% (reaching from ground-level line-men up to senior police echelons).
Syndicate Managers & Line-men: 40% (operating the ground-level network that controls space allocation and daily collections).
Local Political Figures: 30% (retaining control across political shifts and regime changes).
While police and city corporation authorities routinely deny these allegations and claim to take action based on specific evidence, permanent remedies remain elusive.
Policy Recommendations to Curb Footpath Encroachment and Extortion
Restoring Dhaka’s footpaths as pedestrian-friendly corridors requires comprehensive and long-term administrative strategies:
Licensing and Registration for Hawkers: Establishing a comprehensive database of registered hawkers, issuing identity cards, and providing formal business licenses. Official tolls collected through regulated channels should be deposited directly into state coffers rather than enriching illegal syndicates.
Zero-Tolerance Policy Against Extortion Syndicates: Enforcing strict legal action against criminal networks comprising police officials, local political influencers, and line-men. Corrupt municipal or administrative personnel involved in extortion must face exemplary punitive measures.
Zoning and Time-Sharing Management: Keeping footpaths entirely free for pedestrian movement while humanely accommodating hawkers' livelihoods by designating specific low-traffic alleys or permitted evening and weekend operating hours. Over the long term, hawkers should be rehabilitated into modern hawkers' markets or designated commercial corners.
Independent Monitoring Committees: Forming independent supervisory cells comprising local government representatives, law enforcement, and civil society members. Regular, transparent eviction drives must be coupled with permanent local vigilance to prevent syndicates from reoccupying cleared spaces.
Footpaths are not commercial real estate; they represent a fundamental right of urban citizens to walk safely. Breaking the chains of political patronage and corruption to render Dhaka livable, pedestrian-friendly, and orderly requires uncompromising political will and coordinated administrative action.
