SLC-S29/W3-“Thinking and Ideas!| Seeing Problems Differently!”

Greetings, love & respect to all of my steemian friends.

I am @saifuddinmahmud from Bangladesh. There is a beautiful and amazing challenge. The challenge name is SLC-S29/W3-“Thinking and Ideas!| Seeing Problems Differently!” organised by @ninapenda. I am going to share my thoughts.

Identify one everyday problem in your community or country and explain some steps in solving them.

Source

Problem

A very familiar and daily problem in the urban areas of Bangladesh is the shops on the sidewalks. Although the sidewalks are basically built for the safe and proper movement of pedestrians in the city management, in reality, most of the space is occupied by hawkers, floating shops, and temporary stalls. As a result, the sidewalks have lost their original purpose and pedestrians are forced to walk on busy roads.

Occupying the sidewalks creates various problems. The risk of accidents is increasing due to walking on the road, traffic congestion is increasing and urban life is becoming chaotic. Especially women, children, the elderly and the disabled are suffering the most. It is often seen that drains and drains are blocked due to hawkers' shops, causing waterlogging.

Steps to solve

Some effective steps can be taken to solve this problem.

• City corporations and municipalities can create specific hawker zones or low-cost markets for hawkers.

• Introduce a system of licensing and time-based business so that the sidewalk is not occupied outside of the specified hours.

• Keep a part of the sidewalk reserved for pedestrians only and regularly monitor it. Take legal action if someone sets up shop on the sidewalk.

• Provide rehabilitation and alternative employment for poor hawkers.

• Continue the campaign to evict shops on the sidewalk so that they choose different ways of earning.

• Inform them about the problems of having shops on the sidewalk and create their mental awareness.

If all these steps are taken, it is possible to control the problem of shops on the sidewalk to a large extent.

Why do you think this problem still exists despite many people noticing it?

A shop on the sidewalk in my office area

Even though the problem of sidewalk shops has come to everyone's attention, there are many reasons why it still exists. The main reason for this is poverty and unemployment. Many people search for work. Not finding work, they start business on the sidewalk, because this business requires less capital. As a result, they find a short-term source of income. This is an easy way to alleviate poverty and earn a living.

Administrative weakness and irregular law enforcement. Sometimes, even if the high-ranking elite is run, it is not permanent. As a result, the sidewalk is occupied again after a few days.

Political influence and intervention of influential people also do not solve this problem. Because they collect extortion from such hawkers.

We, the common people, are largely responsible for this problem not being solved. Because it is possible to buy goods cheaply from all these shops. Therefore, there is public demand, which encourages the operation of all these shops.

In your opinion, what is the most misunderstood part of this problem?

The biggest misconception about this problem is that sidewalk shops mean destroying the livelihood of the poor. By obstructing their establishment on the sidewalk, the hawkers feel that they are obstructing their livelihood. They are depriving them of their right to lead a life. Many people do not want to evict them considering the humanitarian aspect. But in fact, the main cause of this problem is not the hawkers, but the lack of proper planning and management. It is certainly important to have a humane approach towards them. However, if this humanity goes against law and order, it becomes a cause of harm. Therefore, real humanity towards them is to take such steps so that both the safety of pedestrians and the livelihood of the hawkers are protected. This misunderstanding can be put to an end by giving hawkers the opportunity to do business in a specific place in a planned manner.

If you could change one mindset related to this issue, what would it be?

Source

If there is one mindset that can be changed, it is "The sidewalk is not a place for anyone's personal business, it is the right of movement of ordinary citizens". There is a tendency in our society to accept disorder in the name of compassion, which is important to change. Humanity does not mean condoning rule-breaking, but humanity means rule-based solutions that are good for everyone. At the same time, awareness must be raised among citizens. The administration must facilitate the process of keeping the sidewalk free of encroachment. Shopping from shops built by encroaching on the sidewalk should be avoided.

Finally, shops on the sidewalk are a complex problem. Unilateral strictness is not enough to solve this problem. This requires planned urban management, humane rehabilitation and regular law enforcement.

Thanks to my dear steemian friends Who read my post.

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