ACTS of public nuisance are something that citizens face every day and feel aghast by, but find no remedy from them. The Penal Code defines a public nuisance as any act that results in injury, danger, or annoyance to the public or people in general or creates obstructions for a person who may have occasion to use any public right. What is unacceptable is that when there are a number of laws that deal with acts of public nuisance, the laws are rarely applied. Moreover, there is hardly any social awareness campaign that could make people aware of which acts are considered public nuisances and the legal consequences of such acts. What is also worrying is that many of the acts of public nuisance continue unabated, as the authorities concerned rarely intervene to stop them. In many cases, acts of public nuisance continue as law enforcers and influential people benefit from them. The list of acts of public nuisance is long, and many of them result directly from the failure of the authorities concerned to deliver their duties. For example, throwing litter in an open space constitutes a public nuisance. But the act continues not only because of a lack of regard for hygiene on part of people but also because of an absence of a proper waste collection system.
Obstructing footpaths or people鈥檚 movements is an act of public nuisance. But sadly, most of the footpaths and intersections in the cities, especially in the capital, are grabbed by hawkers. Such a public nuisance has continued in broad daylight as a nexus comprising law enforcers, city corporation officials, and ruling party leaders allot spaces on roads and footpaths in Dhaka to hawkers to extort money from them, making the roads and footpaths off-limits to pedestrians. It is reported that the nexus extorts about Tk 9 crore daily from about 300,000 hawkers occupying the roads and footpaths in Dhaka. Public urination is another disgusting act of public nuisance that continues largely because of a lack of enough public toilets in the cities. Attaching posters and billboards to buildings, trees and over the roads is another act of public nuisance that continues because of the lack of application of relevant laws. During elections, posters, even laminated posters, cover the cities in breach of the laws. Rush driving and irresponsible honking also create public nuisances. The laws also rightly consider smoking and spitting in public places, keeping construction materials in the streets, using indecent language or behaving indecently, and making or repairing vehicles in a street or public place as public nuisances, but hardly any action is taken to prevent these acts.
The authorities must, therefore, take the issue of public nuisance seriously. In so doing, the authorities must apply the relevant laws. The authorities must also realise that the widespread social problem of public nuisances will not stop unless they put an emphasis on social campaigns against public nuisances.