Participatory Development Action Program (PDAP) and Coalition for the Urban Poor (CUP) jointly organized a press conference on “Slum dwellers expectations to the new city Mayor” at Dhaka Reporters Unity recently. Welcome address was given by Ms. Quazi Baby, Executive Director, Participatory Development Action Program (PDAP). She said, our main goal is to bring all slum dwellers to under one umbrella and make their community more strengthen and sustainable through involving them with local government department. So, this is an opportunity to submit their demands to the City Corporation. It is also important for the slum dwellers to focus their issue and work with the local government in future.
In this press conference, Ms. Rebeka Sanyat, Executive Director, Coalition for the Urban Poor (CUP) explained the activities of CUP. The event was presided by Ms. Rafeya Akter, president of Bostibashir Odhikar Surakhha Committee (BOSC). She said, we have prepared a list of demands as well as our expectations. The main demands are :
1.To give recognition the slum peoples as city dwellers and include them in all sustainable development planning.2.To arrange all basic services (i.e. legal water & sanitation, electricity, Gas, Housing and road repairing) for the slum dwellers and new Mayor will take action through his power.3. To make a local and regional platform including Disaster, local authority, NGOs, CBOs and local influential persons. 4.To arrange job opportunity and free health services for all slum dwellers.
A key note speech was presented by a grassroots women leader Ms. Hosne Ara, from BOSC, Mirpur. She spoke that since seven years, there was no Mayor or Councilor in Bangladesh. Now there are many issues have been arrived in the slum areas, but they are not able to go direct to the official of City Corporation.
