They are everywhere, taking over every bit of open space, and they have put regular pedestrians at a disadvantage. In the current state of Dhaka, one just cannot walk.

Dhaka, as of today, is bound to the whims of two groups of people. The rickshaw pullers and the street vendors. They started off slow, revelled in people’s sympathies, and then they took over. One inch at a time, and that has led us here: a city crippled on road and on footpaths.

To be fair, Dhaka did not have much space left to begin with. And they took whatever breathable space we had left. Because Dhaka had so little space left, it matters all the more that we lost that space. It’s like that one riddle: The less you have, the more each is worth.

No more walking

At the moment, it feels like walking is banned in Dhaka. (Not really, but it sure feels like it). It feels like unless you own a rickshaw or a makeshift mobile shop on the street, you should not be on the street. Not even to cross the road, or for a little commute.

It has been growing more and more annoying with each passing day. The other day, I saw a shop on the footpath that is storing its chicken in a huge steel cage. And guess where that cage is placed? Right on the footpath. There is also a new popcorn stall that burns coal on the footpath. Guess where that hot smoke and ash is blown? Into the footpath.

You might ask why don’t I get on the road instead of the footpath? And I ask you back, why should I? The footpath is for walking; hence the name ‘footpath’. Besides, it is a major security issue. Have you seen the Dhaka roads? More importantly, have you seen the vehicles that run on the road?

But I’ll humour you. That’s not even the twist. The twist is that as a pedestrian, risking my life, I have tried to walk on the road instead of the footpath, only to find that my path on the road is blocked by idly sitting rickshaws and rickshaws rushing towards me from the wrong side.

Sympathy runs out

I know we should show sympathy towards the less fortunate. After all, it is a question of their livelihood, but one must ask the question: how much sympathy should you show and how bad must the situation grow before something is done?

Have you ever tried to tell one of the rickshaw pullers who are blocking the road to just park on a side and keep the road clear? I dare you. They come at you with verbal abuse, and some even threaten you physically, all because you had the common sense to tell them to park on the side.

And the terrible news is that those in power are also powerless to these people. The authorities drive them away sometimes and clear the road and footpaths. And it lasts less than an hour. As soon as the authorities are gone, they reclaim the land like a coloniser (I hate using that word, but the situation has grown dire, I am afraid). Sometimes they go as far as attacking the authorities. If you ask the average Dhaka resident, I am certain all the sympathies have run out for these people.

But still, as a person who likes to walk and who has to walk every day on his way to work, exasperated as I am, I must ask: where is my right to walk?