Vacate public spaces in one month

The shop owners in North Dhaka have to vacate any public spaces that they are occupying illegally around their businesses within a month, said Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq yesterday.

They also have to put up signboards on their businesses as per approved size within the same deadline.

The mayor made the calls during a meeting with various shop owners' associations at Gulshan Club.

He also called upon the shop owners to contain the solid waste they generate at a designated place and hand it over to city the corporation waste collectors instead of throwing garbage at random.

A trade licence or shop lease issued by the corporation does not allow the shop owners to occupy footpaths, roads and public passages at markets, said the mayor.

He said unless the businessmen cooperated, it would be very difficult to manage waste disposal.

According to a city corporation official, there are 43 kitchen and super markets owned by the city corporation with 15,756 shops in North Dhaka. Together with those in private ownership, the figure is 1.5 lakh.