Without clean and competent corporation we can’t expect a clean Dhaka

DISHONEST people comprising ruling party activists, law enforcers, city corporation officials and local influential people are making crores of taka monthly allowing illegal kitchen markets in the road sides and open public spaces across the capital, said a report published in a national daily on Saturday.
The cartels collect at least Tk 50 crore each month from roughly 650 permanent and over 2,500 makeshift illegal kitchen markets in 129 wards of the Dhaka North and South city corporations. As we see it is known to all responsible quarters but illegal business is only growing because they enormously get rich overnight. They are therefore sidetracking effective eviction drives and application of laws.
The illegal collection now even covers tea shops and other micro businesses in small city roads and narrow alleys. Hoodlums reportedly collect Tk 200 to 500 daily in the name of police and local party leaders, in addition to Tk 100 as electricity bill equally grabbed by them without depositing to government exchequer.
Such illegal shops selling kitchen items or clothes are noticeable in all city sections helped by hoodlums to add to public sufferings and traffic congestion. Shop keepers regularly throw vegetable waste and dirty water on roads endangering public health. It is true that both city corporations often take up eviction drive but it is always a failed exercise except forcing vendors to pay additional bribe. They return to the spots soon.
We are aware that such practice is only putting into failure any city corporation plan to reduce illegal kitchen market and create a disciplined clean city. Many blame higher license fees is one of the big handicap for small traders to run business legally. It supports illegal business to continue.
We would say the city may never get rid of illegal roadside shops over-crowding at every place unless decision is taken at political level to clear it; which is however totally unlikely. In fact illegal shops are springing up regularly helped by ruling party activists and protected by police. We have laws but not properly enforced and carefully ignored thus leaving the city at any point an open place for minting illegal fortune. It will not stop unless police stop it and party men of the highly corrupt government change their mindset.