Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- Hundreds of hawkers and beggars, quite often seen on Dhaka's major roads and at traffic stops, will be driven out next month ahead of the Cricket World Cup scheduled to begin in mid February, officials said Wednesday. Three South Asian nations -- Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka -- are jointly hosting the grand gala ICC World Cup 2011 and the opening ceremony is scheduled to be held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on February 17.
"No hawkers will be allowed in the streets and beggars will be evicted temporarily from many parts of the city," said Bangladesh Home Minister Shara Khatun. In Bangladesh, matches will be played in the capital of Dhaka and the southeast port city of Chittagong. Apart from six group matches, two quarterfinals will take place in Bangladesh, officials said. Sahara Khatun, junior minister for home affairs, and other top government officials Tuesday had a meeting to ensure fail safe security for the more than a month-long cricket event.
The government is also working to give Dhaka a facelift ahead of the tournament, which will be played by 14 countries in two groups. The countries are Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, England, India, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe. Officials said the beggars would be taken to government asylums for the time being from the first week of February.
"I'm really upset. I don't know what I'll do for the living of my family in February and March," Mohammad Suman, who sells pirated copies of foreign books at one of the busiest traffic signals near the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka's Karwan Bazar, told CNN on Wednesday. The minister said that they would also recommend making February 17 a public holiday in Dhaka. As a part of heightening security, the army would be deployed in many places, besides police and elite forces of the Rapid Action Battalion, officials said.
The Bangladesh government imposed a ban on begging amid criticism two years ago, saying they would stop the practice within five years. According to the law, anyone caught begging in public places faces a maximum three months in jail. But begging is still seen in almost everywhere in Dhaka -- a city of ten million people, one third of whom are extremely poor and live in shanties. According to the World Bank and the United Nations, 40 percent of Bangladesh's 140 million people live below the poverty level.
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