Annisul moots body for safe, green Dhaka
The problems of Dhaka city cannot be solved overnight. A coordination committee is needed to make the city habitable, said Dhaka North City Corporation mayor Anisul Haque yesterday. I have made commitments to the people that I will make the city green and safe. I have started working on it. But problems like waterlogging and traffic jam cannot be solved within a short time. I have inherited these problems, he added.
The DNCC mayor was speaking as chief guest at a meet the reporters programme at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).
Of the 43 canals, 26 have dried up or have been occupied. Drains are being narrowed or plugged. People throw waste in drains causing them to be blocked. It is the duty of the DC and WASA to revive these canals. It is not my job. But I am putting pressure on the officials concerned, and they are responding well to my requests. I hope that by the next monsoon, the problem of waterlogging will be solved or reduced, he said.
Annisul said although Dhakas streets have the capacity to accommodate only 2-3 lakh motorised vehicles, there are 11 lakh vehicles in the city. Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) permits the vehicles, while the traffic police maintain the traffic system.
Rich families use several cars and yet they ask me why cant I ease traffic congestion, he said.
He said that a coordination committee of ministers, city specialists and service providers needs to be formed to solve various problems in the capital. This committee be an authority which people will obey. Discussion to form such a committee is going on, he added.
He said he has taken up a project for better waste management. Already, some 70 places have been selected as sites for waste disposal.
