Accompanied by political leaders and activists, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan led a slogan-chanting procession to conduct a footpath eviction drive. Seeing the approaching procession, itinerant vendors and hawkers who had illegally occupied roads and footpaths swiftly packed up their belongings and fled.
This striking scene unfolded around 11:30 AM on Wednesday during an eviction drive conducted by the DNCC in the capital's Mirpur-1 area. The city authority deployed a mobile court to rid the roads and footpaths of Mirpur-1 from illegal occupation.
Earlier, through an urgent press release issued late Tuesday night, the DNCC had announced that the drive would commence at 10:00 AM on Wednesday. However, operations actually began around 11:30 AM. Even before Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan arrived with the procession, numerous hawkers and mobile vendors along the main thoroughfare from Mirpur-1 towards Gabtoli via the Shah Ali Shrine had already started removing their goods.
Nevertheless, over a hundred makeshift shops in the kitchen market section of the Gabtoli-bound road were still actively selling vegetables and other perishable items at that moment. Upon seeing the Administrator approaching with a large entourage and procession, the vendors scrambled to dismantle their stalls. Some hastily loaded their merchandise onto rickshaws or vans, others carried baskets of vegetables on their heads as they abandoned the footpaths, while many quickly dismantled their temporary stalls made of bamboo, wood, and tarpaulin.
Shortly after, when Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan reached that section of the road, the formal eviction drive commenced. He was followed by DNCC Executive Magistrate Marufa Begum Nelly, participating officials, and heavy machinery deployed for the demolition work. The drive covered key areas including the Shah Ali College Market, Shah Ali DNCC Kitchen Market, and Shah Smriti Market.
