QR-coded hawker cards attempt to bring discipline to Dhaka's footpaths

By dawn, Dhaka's pavements have already been colonised as informal marketplaces. Under the flyovers of Mirpur, beside the office blocks of Motijheel, near the hospitals of Farmgate and amid the transport chaos of Gulistan, tarpaulins are unfolded, bamboo frames tied together, tea kettles fired up, and piles of shirts, fruits, belts, pirated books, and cheap electronics arranged with remarkable speed.

For decades, hawkers have occupied Dhaka's footpaths under an unwritten system built on informal payments and local strongmen rather than any legal entitlement. Now the city corporations are trying to regulate this space through QR-coded hawker cards.

The initiative aims to organise vending and reduce congestion, but many vendors say the underlying system of informal payments, political influence and local control remains largely unchanged.

The hawker card may formalise the vendors. But can it formalise the system?

A new initiative in footpath management

Dhaka South City Corporation has introduced a hawker rehabilitation plan to bring order to the capital's crowded footpaths.

Under the new system, registered hawkers will receive QR-coded identity cards containing personal and business details. Dhaka South CEO Jahirul Islam said hawkers would be required to keep at least five to six feet of footpath space open for pedestrians. The policy also proposes designated vending zones across different parts of the capital.

"We are looking at this positively if it is implemented properly. This will be good both for us and for the general public," said Shariful, who runs a food stall in front of Eastern Mollika Shopping Complex.

For vendors like him, the QR card represents a degree of stability in a system shaped by uncertainty.

"Our only demand is that we can run our businesses smoothly, that nobody demands extortion money from us, and that we are no longer harassed," he said.

Alauddin, a footpath vendor in Gulistan, said he has been running his business there for nearly 25 years with zero paperwork. He recently received a QR-coded hawker card containing his identity and business information.

"The city corporation's initiative is good," he said. "But under this system, many hawkers will have to leave their current spots and move to designated locations. That affects sales. That is why both registered and unregistered hawkers still wish to operate in Gulistan."

As part of the pilot programme, digital identity cards have already been distributed among 100 hawkers in Gulistan. Authorities say the system will help regulate who can operate on footpaths, where vendors can set up stalls and during which hours they may conduct business.

A policy meets Dhaka's reality

While the policy appears organised on paper, the reality on Dhaka's footpaths remains far more complex. Pavements built for pedestrians have been steadily appropriated as commercial space by a vast informal economy outside any legal framework.

In busy commercial areas, walking space and vending space often disappear into each other during peak hours. Customers gather around stalls, carts move through narrow gaps, and pedestrians are pushed into traffic.

The nuisance extends beyond blocked pavements. 

Khokon, a cosmetics shop owner, said customers often buy cheaper products from hawkers rather than enter nearby stores. "We have to pay rent, electricity bills and staff salaries, but hawkers can sell directly on the roadside," he said. Unlike licenced shopkeepers, hawkers carry none of the overheads or obligations of formal trade.

For decades, hawkers have occupied Dhaka's footpaths under an unwritten system built on informal payments and local strongmen. Photo: Mehedi Hasan

Complaints from pedestrians have also persisted for years. In many areas, women, children, elderly citizens and persons with disabilities struggle to walk safely because pavements remain partially or fully blocked. 

One pedestrian said hawkers often occupy the middle of the pavement, forcing people onto busy roads. "We have to walk on the main road with children and elderly family members. It creates serious safety risks," he said, adding that public spaces should remain accessible for everyone.

In Dhaka, footpath occupation is no longer a marginal informal-economy issue; it is a public-order and public-safety problem sustained by weak enforcement.

The hidden economy beneath the pavements

Dhaka's footpath economy is not simply a livelihood arrangement; it has evolved into a vast informal financial system operating alongside the formal urban economy.

Allegations of political influence and informal payments continue to shape access to vending space. Media reports and multiple studies on Dhaka's informal economy suggest that access to hawker cards and vending spots often depends on political connections. 

Some vendors and local sources also allege that securing the new hawker cards may require political recommendations and unofficial upfront payments, alongside additional daily payments to retain vending spots.

Fakruddin, who sells shirts and trousers on a footpath, acknowledged the pressure many hawkers face. "They have to pay local leaders to keep their spots. If they are forced to relocate, they fear losing their customers and income," he said.

Government officials, however, insist that the proposed hawker fees under the QR-card system will remain minimal. One deputy secretary involved in the process said the collected amount would mainly cover administrative expenses related to licences, QR-coded identity cards and management costs.

Rahim Mia, who has been selling T-shirts beneath the Gulistan flyover for the past 15 years, has yet to receive a hawker card.

"Someone told me they would arrange one for me, but I never heard from them again," he claimed.

"I have heard that the city corporation plans to relocate us somewhere else. But why should I leave? I have been doing business here for 15 years, and everyone knows me. If I move to another place, my business will not do well," he added.

Md Shahid, 58, who sells sandals in Gulistan, said he has spent most of his life doing business there. "I have spent my whole life running this business here, and now they want us to move somewhere else?" he said.

"We already have to pay money. We have been paying for years — to the police, to local leaders and to city corporation officials. They even took money for these cards. Now they say they will rehabilitate us in Mirpur. How can I just leave?"

Our only demand is that we can run our businesses smoothly, that nobody demands extortion money from us, and that we are no longer harassed.

Shariful, Street Vendor

Policymakers argue that the current informal structure weakens state oversight, limits revenue collection and reduces transparency in urban management. But many hawkers say informal control still shapes who gets access to the pavement and who does not.

A city where walking becomes dangerous

Dhaka's growing footpath crisis is no longer simply about hawkers occupying pavements. It reflects a broader breakdown of the city's pedestrian infrastructure.

Across Dhaka, footpaths built for pedestrians have gradually narrowed or disappeared under makeshift stalls. As a result, pedestrians are regularly forced onto congested roads filled with fast-moving traffic. For many residents, especially women, elderly citizens, and parents walking with children, even crossing short distances has become increasingly stressful and dangerous.

A resident of the New Market area said that although hawkers are often allocated designated spots, many still expand into pedestrian walkways. "We are constantly forced onto the main road while buses and motorcycles pass by dangerously close," she said. "The city corporation cannot simply hand over public walking spaces like this."

Dhaka already suffers from a severe shortage of usable pedestrian infrastructure, while the limited public space that remains is increasingly being occupied for commercial use.

While authorities present the QR-coded hawker cards as a step toward regulating street vending, the scheme risks simply formalising an illegal occupation of public space unless enforcement is applied consistently and existing extortion networks are dismantled.

Livelihood vs public rights

At the centre of Dhaka's footpath debate lies a growing conflict between two competing realities: the right to livelihood and the right to public space.

For thousands of hawkers, the pavements of Dhaka are more than just places of business; they are a means of survival in a city where formal employment opportunities remain limited and living costs continue to rise.

Urban planners and pedestrians, however, argue that public spaces cannot remain permanently occupied in the name of livelihood alone. Footpaths are designed primarily to ensure safe and accessible movement for pedestrians, yet in many parts of Dhaka, those walking spaces have steadily disappeared.

The QR-coded card system attempts to regulate one aspect of the crisis. Yet weak enforcement, political patronage and informal payments continue to shape how the system operates.