Gazipur residents want an overhaul of the newly-formed city corporation and said they would pit for a mayor who would work to solve waterlogging and traffic congestion, as well as relocate of factories that mushroomed without planning, construct flyovers at the railgate area, ensure gas connections in areas outside coverage and battle narcotics.
Locals of the Tongi and Gazipur sadar area pointed out that although the city corporation adjoins the capital, little has been done for its improvement over the years.
They continued by adding that the inadequate and outdated drainage system cannot handle even a little bit of rainfall, leading to waterlogging and immense suffering for the dwellers.
A number of industries have been built in an unplanned way while both sides of the streets are being encroached by small traders, which is a major cause of traffic congestion in the city, locals said.
Arshad Hossain, a resident of the Tongi area, said factories were built throughout the city without any planning, which often gives rise to numerous problems. “The new mayor should remodel Gazipur to transform it into a planned industrial city.”
The railgate has become a hub of narcotics as drug peddlers run their illegal businesses in the area, he said, hoping the new mayor would play his due role to make the city drug-free.
Many locals have voiced the same concern as Mobarak and demanded construction of a flyover in the area in the belief that this would alleviate their sufferings.
A field visit in the area revealed that a number of industries including apparel factories have sprawled from Tongi to the Gazipur Chowrasta area on either side of Dhaka-Mymensingh highway.
Vehicles are stuck in long queues at almost all times and when it rains, water does its part to augment people’s suffering. Sometimes liquid wastes pouring from roadside factories are seen gushing towards the street, yet this has failed to draw the attention of the authorities.
In addition to the toxic waste that emits from nearby industries and finally gets mixed in the river water, a number of brick kilns set up on the Turag riverbed are also to be blamed for the pollution of Turag river and its surrounding areas.
Almost all of the streets under the corporation are in a rundown state, with many of the streets not even paved with bricks.
Both of the mayoral candidates backed by the government or the opposition have pledged to address these problems on many occasions during their election campaigns. The repeated promises have raised voters’ hopes; they expect that whoever gets elected in the polls will not forget his promise and will do the best that he can for the city.