Opening remarks
Shahidul Islam: My bus is not one to crumble or burn down by petrol bombs. I am running with bus as my symbol as a protest against those who destroyed buses with petrol bombs. The entire Dhaka south needs to be brought under CCTV coverage in order to ensure security.
Golam Mawla Rony: The citizen does not have faith that the person sitting in the chair has been elected. My motto is to keep my doors open for the citizens. My phone will always be open for them. To solve the citizens’ problems, I will work as hard as needed and learn as much as I can.
Mohammad Saifuddin Ahmed Milon: I have been involved with the movement of building a congestion-free beautiful city. I will not be able to beautify the city alone. My plan is to involve the urban planners. So I call upon the voters not to get tied up in the illusion of a party. Ask your conscience and cast your vote for the honest and capable candidate.
Sayeed Mohammad Khokon: I know that we have many problems. I know that Dhaka is considered an unliveable city today. And when we laugh our hearts out at the slightest hint of joy, many wonder how we laugh.
Mohammad Shafi Ullah Chowdhury: I fully agree with the emotional words Milon Bhai, Rony Bhia and Khokon Bhai. You do not need to do too many things to give Dhaka a facelift.
Waste management
Bazlur Rashid Feroz: The city corporation can supply special bags for every household.
Shahidul Islam: One of the ground-breaking initiatives of the current government is the PPP [public-private partnership]. We will try to solve the city’s power crisis producing electricity from garbage through the PPP initiative.
Sayeed Mohammad Khokon: There are many local arbitration bodies still active in many parts of old Dhaka. There are also many community clubs. I want to give them the task of managing waste. The city corporation will pay for their expenses on a trial basis. If this is successful then I will spread this system all over Dhaka.
Water logging
Sayeed Mohammad Khokon: Dhaka City Corporation looks after the city’s drainage system. But the sewerage system is under Dhaka Wasa. There is a communication gap here. If I become the mayor, I will first try to do the things that fall under my jurisdiction. The first thing I do will be to make the drains deeper so that they can carry more water. I will also get those drains cleaned that are clogged with sand and waste.
Bazlur Rashid Feroz: Take the example of the Sylhet railway station. Saifur Rahman [late finance minister of a previous BNP governments] built a new modern station there. But you will still see the centuries-old British building there. When it rains hard, the new building gets water logged, but the old building remains dry. One has got to have the vision and plan for what may come one or two hundred years later. Otherwise, problems will keep recurring.
Traffic congestion
Sayeed Mohammad Khokon: Because of the high price of petrol-octane, most cars are run by gas these days. Many families have more than one car. We often see there is only one passenger in one car. Instead, if we can have three to four people travel in one car, then I think the problem of too many cars coming down on the streets at the same time can be solved. I have seen in China that many people ride bicycles. Recently, the popularity of bicycles has increased in Bangladesh. But our women or girls do not ride bicycles at all. I think they should be encouraged. If I am elected by the grace of almighty, I will appoint a professional consultant and take necessary steps in line with their recommendations.
Bazlur Rashid Feroz: An Ideal city should have 25% of its area as roads. But Dhaka has only 8%. More than 180 cars come in every minute. Who gives them the registration? It is not the mayor of Dhaka. The BRTA gives them the approval to ply the roads. Moreover, there are three types of roads in Dhaka – some under Rajuk, some under the Roads and Highways Department, some under the City Corporation. In that case, even if the mayor pledges to solve all the problems, it will not be possible.
Golam Mawla Rony: For example what happens in developed countries? Say there are eight lanes in a road – four on this side and four on the opposite. During rush hour, what we can do is give two more lanes to the side of the road that is experiencing heavy traffic. Then bring things back to normal again when there is less rush.
Mohammad Saifuddin Ahmed Milon: In many countries, there are underpasses at busy intersections. If the cars in Dhaka did not need to stop at intersections, then congestion would have been much less.
Shahidul Islam: We cannot allow rickshaws to ply roads that are less than 12 feet wide. We will have to build overpasses at the intersection of those roads which are more than 40ft wide. I have talked about CCTV. If we see on CCTV that there is pressure of cars in one road then we can turn the cars around and choose a better route.
Playgrounds
Sayeed Mohammad Khokon: One big problem is that when city corporation authorities try to evict illegal occupiers, they file writ petitions and the drive has to be stopped. The hearing takes five, sometimes 10 years, sometimes more. We will need to strengthen the legal department of our city corporation... I will assure you that this [compromising with ruling party men] will never happen with Sayeed Khokhon. That much is certain and guaranteed.
Bazlur Rashid Feroz: The mayor's authority is coming up again and again. Take for example, the mayor of a local municipality outside Dhaka. The municipality mayor has the authority to approve or reject the construction of a building. The mayor of Dhaka does not have that authority.
City government system
Shahidul Islam: Considering the existing city corporation laws, making somebody the mayor of Dhaka is similar to tying up their hands and legs and throwing them into the river. He cannot work independently. There is a term called “local self-rule.” Our city corporation does not govern itself, rather it is governed by various ministries. We need to get every permission from them. If I am elected mayor of Dhaka, I will push for passing a “local autonomy act”.
Sayeed Mohammad Khokon: I want to start by forming a coordinated authority. If I am elected, I will form a committee comprising representatives of the 52 autonomous bodies and ministries that work with the Dhaka City Corporation. Honourable Prime Minister [Sheikh Hasina] likes me a lot. If I request her to form that committee for me, I am confident that she will not say no.