Dhaka, Nov. 9 -- The weekday morning rush in Dhaka is a familiar spectacle -- parents racing to drop children at school, commuters hurrying to offices, and endless traffic queues stretching across the capital. But in several neighbourhoods, the congestion is worsened by sprawling morning markets that occupy main roads and footpaths, leaving both commuters and police trapped in a daily struggle.

Visits to two such markets in Mirpur and Mohammadpur revealed scenes of utter disorder: makeshift stalls blocking half the road, fishmongers shouting prices over blaring horns, and police officers sweating to keep vehicles moving inch by inch.

Officers admit they are powerless to remove these unauthorised markets without coordinated intervention ...