Dhaka’s citizens consider the last year as craziest for some major crises that made headlines frequently, with the dengue outbreak as the most crucial one killing 126 people around the city.
And a worsening air quality put Dhaka, for most part of the year, on the bottom of the list of global cities notorious for polluted air.
Now, as the capital’s two city corporations are bracing to welcome new mayors with the elections slated for January 30, the people expect them to prioritize ridding Dhaka of waste, dust and mosquitoes, after the mayors take office.
Total 14 mayor aspirants, fielded by different political parties, have submitted nomination forms to the Election Commission to secure their candidatures to contest the polls to Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
The commission will scrutinize the nomination papers of all mayoral and councillor candidates today, while the aspirants will have until January 9 to pull out from the race.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, citizens demanded that the new mayors must not make empty promises and initiate immediate plans and effective measures to address these issues.
“I travel by bus from Mirpur to my office at Motijheel every day. It takes two hours or more because heavy traffic on narrow roads created by the ongoing uncontrolled construction work of metro rail.
“Life has become miserable for me,” said Abdul Gafur, a banker who lives in Mirpur, which falls under DNCC.
“On my way to office, I face swirling dust clouds on the road that makes me suffer from respiratory problems. This is an urgent matter for the new mayor to look into,” he added.
His concerns were echoed by many others, who also said that the new mayors must take effective initiatives to address this issue as soon as possible.
For the past few years, Dhaka city has been frequently ranking worst — with a score over 300 — in the World Air Quality Index, which reports daily air quality in cities across the globe.
Even at 6pm yesterday, with a score of 198 on the index, the city’s air was unhealthy for its citizens.
The overcrowded capital has been grappling with air pollution for a long time. Air quality usually improves during monsoon, but that season also brings on waterlogging and related crises.
‘No one should suffer from dengue’
For Siddkur Rahman, a readymade garment trader from Old Dhaka’s Nazira Bazar area which falls under DSCC, waterlogging and mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue should be the key priorities for the new mayors.
“I don’t want anyone to suffer from dengue, ever. The new mayors must work to control or curb the breeding of mosquitoes,” said Siddikur, a dengue survivor himself.
He also said that waterlogging was a common problem in Old Dhaka areas during rainy season every year. “The mayor and councillors must pay attention to this issue, by making the roads free from all types of garbage and wastes.”
File photo: Dengue patients receive treatment at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital in Dhaka | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribunePeople living in numerous areas around the capital city struggle during monsoon, when moderate to heavy rains frequently leave the roads underwater, the traffic crippled and halting the daily lives of the citizen.
The waterlogging problem is nothing new for the citizens. Although the city corporations have been making promises and taking different initiatives, the problem is yet to be resolved for good.
More development must
Sumon Sheikh, a journalist and a voter of DSCC’s Sabujbagh area, said some new development initiatives should be taken to turn localities into smart areas that will provide modern facilities to the citizens.
“Mayor Sayeed Khokon did install LED lights on the streets and mini dustbins on the footpaths in many areas. But today, you won’t find much of those dustbins where they are supposed to be.
“The new mayors should find out why these initiatives, launched with public money, failed,” he said.
Sumon also expected that the new mayors will continue the development works by taking lessons from the past and recent failures.
In 2016, DNCC and DSCC had installed around 6,700 waste bins — each costing an average of Tk6,700 — to promote cleanliness and encourage citizens to be more mindful.
But over 80% of them just disappeared – mostly reported stolen – while the others fell into disrepair due to neglect. The authorities claimed only half the bins were stolen and the rest were left unused.
Several months ago, both city corporations started planning to re-install the waste bins after the previous project at the cost of tax money of citizens went in vain. Officials at the time had also said that surveys would be conducted first to come up with ways to ensure last project’s results are not repeated.
DSCC officials declined to comment on the issue yesterday. A DNCC official, however, requesting anonymity, said the process to clear the project was underway, but it was unlikely to come through before the city corporation elections.
Wastes and footpath
Many citizens also told Dhaka Tribune that the city must be made waste free, while some demanded hawker-free foothpaths for unobstructed movement.
Md Selim, a hawker from DSCC’s Kamrangirchar area, said: “It does not matter who is elected mayor; because doing business on foothpath becomes tough under every mayor.”
But Md Sajib, a private university student who lives in DNCC’s Shewrapara area, only wants his new mayor to free the foothpaths illegally occupied by hawkers, so that he can walk to his university by foot.
Meanwhile, people from the low-income groups do not expect much from the new mayors.
Md Jakirul Islam, who lives at the PWD colony slum at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, said: “No matter who comes or who goes, all I expect is that our slum will not be demolished.”
He also vented frustration that candidates come and visit them only before the election, and disappear after they are elected. “They make commitments to us before the polls, but finding them becomes difficult once they are elected and fail to keep their promises.”
Tanjir Rahman and Md Saidun Nabi contributed to this report