Reza Mahmud :
After eight years of separations, Dhaka’s two City Corporations are still facing challenges to eradicate mosquito menace, waterloggings and air pollutions.
The government has bifurcated two city corporations in the capital city instead of one undivided Dhaka City Corporation to upgrade quality of services, but the move failed as per the city dwellers experiences and experts views.
“We are suffering from mosquito menace across the year and suffering air pollutions year long sans the rainy season only. But water logging snatches the happiness of clean air in rainy season,” Anisur Rahman, a resident of the old Dhaka’s Gandaria told The New Nation.
City dwellers from different parts of the capital shared the similar bitter experiences with The New Nation.
When contacted, Professor Dr. Adil Muhammad Khan, General Secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners and Professor of Jahangirnagar University told The New Nation, “The city corporations have to learn different methods from developed countries like digging in the construction work. Cities in developed countries conducting their development work, constructions without creating dust and air pollutions.”
To eliminate mosquitoe menace, he suggested cleaning all drains, canals and other water bodies in the city so that the mosquitoes breeding hubs will be destroyed.
Professor Dr. Adil Muhammad Khan blamed unplanned development work as like mega projects for the water logging.
He said the mega projects and unplanned development work eliminated the water bodies and wetland across and beyond the city which is liable for water logging in capital.
Besides, the unclean and grabbed canals also liable for the water logging as per experts views.
Experts and city dwellers said Dhaka South City Corporation and Dhaka North City Corporations has been gotten several Mayors and administrators after separations but the crises of gridlocks, water logging, air pollution and mosquito menace yet to be erased.
They shared their experiences as saying the streets of the city turned into mini rivers after a moderate rain in every day of rainy seasons. The people suffer most as the roads, lanes and by lanes find over flowed with huge stink water of drains including human feces.
The people barred from movement due to the water loggings, they experience the bitter suffering every day of rainy seasons for the water logging in almost all areas of the city.
Experts said responsibilities of most of the canals were remained under Dhaka WASA for long.
Recently its management has been handed over to the City Corporations aiming to eliminate the water logging.
But management responsibilities of few canals were under City Corporations earlier, but were grabbed by fluential persons.
Residents said chikungunya and dengue created acute suffering in last several years when the mayors found busy with talking their rhetoric speeches.
Experts asked the City Corporations authority to work honestly shunning talking to get the people rid from the acute mosquito menace which still create huge sufferings for the city dwellers across the city.
Md. Asharful Islam, Urban planner of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkho (RAJUK) said, “The City Corporations have to adopt sustainable and long term plans including recovering of lost water bodies across the city. It also have to ensure sufficient public transports and to eliminate traffic grid locks. If it can be ensured, the Dhaka will be finest city of the globe.”
DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam agreed with the experts views saying, “We are walking to the path of recovery from all of identified crises in city.”
He expressed his optimism saying all of the problems will be eliminated as the corporations are now working honestly for these.
