Dr. M Abul Kashem Mozumder and Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
The city corporations in mega cities in Bangladesh have an elaborate programme of cleaning operation. To implement the programme the corporations engage and maintain staff. About 50 percent cleaning staff of both the Dhaka North and South City Corporations and in Chittagong have been doing their assigned task not on the permanent basis.. They are either engaged on master role basis or on the basis proxy for r replaced workers. They are ill paid found not doing their duties being engaged in other works instead of their official works. Even their performances are not duly monitored. “Around 2742 cleaning staffs are recruited in master roll in DNCC and 5249 in DSCC. Of them, 800 cleaning staffs of DNCC get wages according to the government scale, while 1942 get without scale. Similarly, 1800 cleaning staffs of DSCC get wages with the government scale, while rest others get without scale. Each scale-enrolled cleaning staff gets between Tk 22,000 and Tk 23,000 as monthly wage, while each general staff, who works on “No work No Pay” basis, gets Tk 14,250 according to daily wage at Tk 475. According to the stipulation, the cleaning staffs, which got enrolment, are compelled to serve for eight hours in a day. But they don’t work for more than three to four hours a day. Due to their negligence, many important roads and lanes remain filled with wastes and in unhygienic and dirty condition regularly. While visiting to Gulshan area, this correspondent found that a cleaning worker namely Chandan Kumar, 35, was busy to clean a road.
“The city dwellers opined that ‘all the recruited cleaning staffs don’t observe duty properly. Most of them carry their jobs with rented persons. But they withdraw wages from the government fund every month as recruited and legal workers through bank account. Consequently, the waste disposal works hamper in the city hard.Some officials of DNCC and DSCC said around 50 percent of the cleaning staffs have been deceiving their duties due to lack of proper monitoring by the authorities concerned. The recruited cleaning staffs take the advantages after managing some unscrupulous officials of the Waste Management Department.
“The city corporations are supposed to render utility services like sweeping, garbage collection, disposal, mosquito control etc., as a matter of fact cleaning of city’s main roads is not done and the city inhabitants do not think that main roads and lanes or by-lanes are cleaned. During monsoon roads conditions become horrible with dirt, muds and garbage. Garbage disposal systems are also defective and more not well maintained. According to time table the workers have to complete their job for cleaning drainage systems, roads and evacuating daily accumulated wastages”According to the total area of 60 square mile consisting of 41 wards there are sufficient amount of cleaning workers plus waste carriage vans and different instruments for cleaning drainage systems, roads and clear off the daily accumulated wastage..There are appointed officials, cleaning supervisors and inspectors who always monitor the job proceedings and interchange information between them for better results.”
All the programme in papers are paper tigers. They have waste department with the functions like Street sweeping: All kinds of road sweeping inside the ward boundary. Removing illegal banner festoon (which are not approved by WMD, Giving permission of PCSP (Primary Collection Service Provider)/ door to door waste collection from household /Van services, collect solid waste from domestic, business, hospital, street, public toilets and drains, Provide dustbins and other receptacles for accumulating the waste, DNCC cleaners clean the roads, drains and sewerage lines. Collection and transportation of medical waste, Development of hospital waste landfill Arrange community meeting for promoting community base solid waste management Development of sanitary landfill DNCC started community based waste management activities in collaboration with JICA Manage the private solid waste management and NGO based solid waste management. Awareness activities include: Community meeting at ward level Conduct training program for community people for developing the waste management system of their local community. Conduct lots of program like rally and miking distribution leaflet and sticker, conduct cultural program among different community. Conduct Environmental Education program, mobile and model school program to increase the awareness about environment among the student at primary level.
According to a news report: Private Solid Waste Management in Dhaka City is approach for Public Private Participation. Dhaka North City Corporation fully privatizes its conservancy works in Uttara, Gullshan, Banani, Baridara, Mohakali and Tejgaon areas. These areas cover the northern part of the city, like zone 1, 3 the private parties are handling this works very smoothly. The Urban Planning Department introduced this project for the first time. Then the project was handed over to the Waste Management Department of DNCC. The Private parties do the street sweeping. Drain cleaning. Door-to-door waste collection, dustbin cleaning and waste transportation and final disposal. But cities are not properly cleaned. We would not like to blame only the authorities. City people are also to be taken to task. Even with garbage disposal system the places are brimful with garbage. Garbage collectors collect garbage from houses. Even then wastes are thrown into the lanes and by-lanes.
Despite proliferation of nasty and dirty drain, jungles and sewerage as the breeding places of mosquitoes no prompt action is taken to clean city drains and dirty places. As a result dengu, malaria and chikungunia strike to trouble the city dwellers. Then what the hails the staff is doing.
In theory we see ‘the supervision of malaria and mosquito control officials: all programs regarding the control of any mosquito infections are executed. To prevent the worse effect of mosquitoes according to the schedule once in a week the Lava Destroying Oil (L.D.O) is sprayed to all over the place where mosquitoes born and to all the drains and ponds. Special mosquito control programs are taken every year to safeguard the citizens. For full eradication of mosquitoes mortien spray is also done. The various larger drains and canals are also cleaned apart from the regular schedule of medicinal spray which falls under this program. What is more apparent than real is that ‘Each Ward is again divided into one Block and each Block is appointed with Sweepers and drain-cleaners who with their modern machineries clear off the wastages and put them in the dustbin or keep them into some convenient place where from the waste product disposal van can collect. On the other hand in 2 of the wards – JamalKhan Healthy Ward and North Kattali Ward. There are 18 waste product disposals Rickshaw vans which collect waste products from the locality houses and dispose it in the dustbins of the main road. Apart from this there are 6 waste product disposal Rickshaw vans working from Siekh Mujib Road Dewanhat to Barik Building Crossing. Recently 16 waste product disposal Rickshaw vans have been provided to different wards, whose supervision is done by the honorable Ward Commissioners in their respective Wards. Many N.G.O s along with the corporation are also helping to keep the city clean by organizing 21 waste product disposal Rickshaw vans to various wards and pick up waste products in their supervision.’
Above all cleaning a city is not the sole responsibility of the City Corporation or municipality or paurasava. The concerns of the central government matter much. The city Mayor may pledge cleaning and beautification of city in city elections. He cannot redeem the pledge, as the corporation is not financially autonomous with a poor taxation base. The cities like capital city, commercial capital must be clean and beautiful with centrally sanctioned project. It is a matter of partnership between government and the city Mayor. Kolkata city now look clean and dazzling because of the role Chief Minster Momota Banerjee.
(Dr. M Abul Kashem Mozumder, Pro-VC, BUP and Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque, Retired Professor, Chittagong University).
