With alternative roads closed, hawkers choke Dakshin Khan’s Naddapara-Ashkona artery

More than a hundred hawkers have occupied footpaths and sections of the road between Naddapara and Ashkona in Dakshin Khan, narrowing one of the area’s busiest routes and causing severe traffic congestion throughout the day.

The road has become the main access route for residents of Dakshin Khan, Ashkona and Kaola as nearby roads remain closed or unusable due to the Airport Underpass project and utility pipeline works.

A recent visit found makeshift stalls selling fruits, vegetables, clothing, tea and other goods lining both sides of the road. Large sections of the footpaths have been occupied, forcing pedestrians onto the carriageway. Even spaces beside plastic traffic barriers have been taken over.

Tanjima Akter, a Northern University Bangladesh student from Naddapara, said the congestion has become a daily ordeal.

“Hajj Camp Road has long been closed, so we have no alternative. Hawkers have narrowed the road and traffic barely moves,” she said, adding that poor road conditions, waterlogging and mud during the monsoon often make her late for classes.

Residents said surrounding roads near Ashkona Government Primary School, Kaola, Amtala College and Boro Mosque are also riddled with potholes, making travel hazardous after rain.

Resident Rakib Hasan said hawkers had occupied the road for years, but the problem had worsened recently.

“During Hajj, authorities clear the area and movement improves. But for the rest of the year, students are forced onto the road because the footpaths remain occupied,” he said, adding that the growing number of battery-run auto-rickshaws has intensified congestion.

CNG driver Nasir Uddin said the narrowed road leaves vehicles trapped in traffic for long periods, reducing the number of trips drivers can complete.

Md Shafiqul Islam, acting executive engineer of Dhaka North City Corporation’s Region-7, said no eviction drive had been conducted, as hawker removal is outside the engineering department’s jurisdiction.

He blamed slow road repairs on delays by the contractor and said instructions had been issued to speed up the work.

Contacted for comment, Region-7 Regional Executive Officer Md Ziaur Rahman declined to comment