Some 20 to 25 traders have long been doing business on the footpath in front of Nagar Bhaban, the headquarters of DCC. They sell clothes, seasonal fruits, cigarettes, herbal medicines and many others things in their makeshift shops.

When contacted, several DCC officials declined to make any comment on the illegal occupation of the pavements in front of their office. But one official said: "We are really embarrassed. We do not know who are backing them to carry on their business."

Although DCC regularly conducts drive to evict vendors and hawkers from city pavements, it hardly makes any attempt to drive away the traders from this footpath. The traders said they rarely face any trouble in doing business there.

A number of vendors sit close to the west gate of Nagar Bhaban which is used by the mayor but the DCC employees informed the traders about the arrival and departure of the mayor a few minutes earlier so that they can close their shops temporarily.

A DCC official said the illegal occupation of the footpaths in front of the DCC headquarters is a matter of shame for them but none of the officials could say how the vendors were continuing their business without any obstacle.

"We evicted them several times but they come back soon after every eviction drive," said an official of the DCC estate department. "We cannot keep footpaths free without the help of police and if they allow them to sit, we are helpless."

But the security guards of DCC said they can keep the footpath free from hawkers without the help of police, if they are instructed to do it. "We cannot drive them away without an order from our officers," said a security guard.

The vendors on the footpath said they do not face eviction or any trouble in doing business as they regularly pay toll to the police and DCC staff. "We pay them Tk 10 for each shop daily," said Mannan who sells old clothes.

While visiting the spot on Monday afternoon, the Star City correspondent found two police constables receiving the toll. One of the vendors usually collects the toll from each of the vendors and then hands over it to the cops.

When asked, the constables declined to talk and left the scene hurriedly.

The High Court on February 11, 2001 ordered the city authorities to free the pavements from any kind of occupation to facilitate the pedestrians to walk freely. But DCC and the police seem to be reluctant to comply with the order.

According to a survey conducted by an NGO, about 40 percent of the 220 kilometer footpaths in the city are now occupied by the street vendors.

The footpaths in Motijheel, Dulkusha, Gulistan, Paltan, Baitul Mukarram, GPO, New Market, Nilkhet, Malibagh, Mouchak, Topkhana Road, Sadarghat, Bangshal, Kamalapur, Mirpur Road, Sayedabad, Shahbagh, Banani, Kakrail and Farmgate are mostly occupied.

The Mayor was not available for comment on this issue.