Mirpur 10's Footpaths Are Empty Now, But the Eviction Ledger Remains Unfinished

Walking along the footpath beside the Mirpur 10 roundabout yesterday, the eye caught on a strange emptiness. The footpath that used to be crammed from dawn to deep night with hawkers' stalls, rows of hanging clothes, baskets of vegetables and a crush of buyers now shows only clean stone slabs and old stains on the walls. No hawkers, no benches, no plastic sheets strung overhead, not even the ropes that held the displays. Pedestrians finally have room to put their feet down; movement with a wheelchair, a child's pushcart or market bags has become easier. Some passers-by stop to take photographs. But the ledger behind this emptied footpath is not a one-line story. Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) carried out an eviction drive to free the footpaths of the Mirpur 10 area. During the drive, illegal structures were demolished and hawkers occupying the footpath were removed. But the situation turned heated as soon as the drive began — hawkers attacked police and city corporation staff. In other words, this was not merely the implementation of an administrative notice; it was a direct clash between livelihood and the regulation of public space. The exercise of a municipal authority's power and the resistance of an unorganised occupational group — it is in the collision of these two that Mirpur 10's footpath stands empty today. Now the face of the Mirpur 10 roundabout and the surrounding footpaths has changed. The footpath is clear, movement is easy, the crowd is thin. The photographs capture clean slabs and an open walking path. But right here a question rises — is this change durable, or temporary? Because the picture looks far cleaner than the reality is even. In the Mirpur 1 area, hawkers still sit occupying the footpath. Tolarbagh shows the same situation — footpaths full, movement squeezed. In other words, in the city that is supposed to have free footpaths, another Mirpur footpath remains packed right next to Mirpur 10. That inconsistency is the real story, a bigger story than the headline. A successful drive spreads from area to area; here it has not. So before claiming that encroachment has been eliminated, one should think at least twice. This is where the real analysis sits. Whether an eviction drive succeeds is determined by its durability and its breadth. A footpath can be cleared for a few days, but if the occupation is structural, the people removed come back — sometimes into the next lane, sometimes weeks later to the same spot, sometimes under a new name with a new display. The scene at Mirpur 1 and Tolarbagh suggests the eviction has not spread; it is confined to a limited area. So there are three possible outcomes here. One, Mirpur 10 stays clear permanently and works as a model. Two, Mirpur 10 stays clear while the neighbouring areas remain full — that is not a solution but a displacement of the problem. Three, after some time the hawkers return to Mirpur 10 and the crisis of authority is recreated. Which of the three happens depends on resettlement and consistent enforcement. Footpath occupation is an old problem in Bangladesh's large cities. Dhaka has seen many eviction drives, but each time the occupation has returned after a while. The reason is that this problem cannot be solved by enforcement alone; it needs coordinated planning — alternative markets, resettlement and continuous monitoring. Whether the Mirpur 10 episode falls inside that old pattern is now the thing to watch. Behind the DNCC drive there is also a question of authority. Clearing a footpath by shutting down hawkers' livelihoods is an administratively easy decision, but what replaces that livelihood is not spelled out in the report. If eviction happens without resettlement, the risk of a recurring cycle of confrontation is created — and the attack on the first day of the drive points precisely to that risk. Reclaiming public space is a civic right, but losing a livelihood is also a real loss; without balance between the two, any eviction ends up a temporary solution. The attack on the first day of the drive is not a lone incident; it is a signal. When people face state forces driven by the need to protect a livelihood, it becomes clear that the eviction decision is less administrative than social. If this friction becomes long-lasting, trust in the authority is damaged too. So not force alone, but dialogue and a path to resettlement matter just as much. One point deserves mention here, and it sits outside the headline. Mirpur 10 is not merely a road junction. It is the transport hub close to the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The Mirpur stadium is Bangladesh's principal international cricket venue, where the Bangladesh national team and the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) play. If the footpaths stay clear, crowd movement and security management on match days could become somewhat easier. But it must be said plainly: the original report makes no mention of the stadium or of cricket. So this link is only geographic, not topical. This is exactly where a warning is needed — treating a municipal story as cricket analysis simply because the word 'Mirpur' appears is a mistake. Where the content is about footpaths, eviction and livelihood, there is no cricket element beyond the proximity of the stadium. So is the emptying of Mirpur 10's footpath good news? For the pedestrian, yes, without doubt. For children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, a clear footpath is a major relief. But the success of a municipal system is measured by its comprehensiveness and durability, not by a photograph of one junction. If only one junction is clear while the neighbouring areas remain full, that is not a solution but a displacement of the problem. And if eviction comes without any resettlement arrangement, the success is temporary too. Three things should be watched in the coming days. First, how long Mirpur 10's footpath stays clear — a week, a month, or longer. Second, whether DNCC carries out a similar drive in Mirpur 1 and Tolarbagh, that is, whether enforcement becomes even-handed. Third, whether any resettlement or alternative livelihood is announced for the hawkers who were removed. The answers to these three questions will tell whether the eviction was a lasting change or another temporary drive. And for those who want to link this to cricket merely on seeing the word 'Mirpur', a clear reminder — content is the basis of analysis, not a geographic coincidence of names.