BNP-backed mayoral candidate Mirza Abbas has promised to provide a safe and clean Dhaka if he is elected as mayor of the Dhaka South City Corporation.
The BNP leader’s wife Afroza Abbas announced a 10-point election manifesto on behalf of Abbas in a press conference in the capital’s National Press Club.
In his manifesto, Abbas pledged of bringing the city corporation’s tax rates down from the existing 27% and making them affordable for all.
To make Dhaka a liveable and safe city, Abbas promised of taking separate 180-day projects to identify and solve the city’s problems one by one.
To reduce the city’s traffic jam, Abbas promised to build enough footbridges, footpath and underpasses, deploy ward-based community police and remove and rehabilitate footpath-occupying hawkers.
Providing pure drinking water to the Dhaka residents and overcoming the city’s water stagnation and drainage troubles were also included in his electoral pledge. He also mentioned that digging roads during rainy season would be stopped if he was elected to the mayor’s office.
As a solution to reducing the electricity crisis, Abbas further promised to build power supply stations under the city corporation.
Abbas, who served as Dhaka’s mayor from 1991 to 1993, pledged of making a Digital Dhaka by introducing free WiFi in public places and arranging online tax payment. He also mentioned that every road of the city would be brought under CCTV surveillance.
Abbas promised garment workers of building dormitory and hospitals near their factories. The manifesto also emphasised on rehabilitating the poor people and street children.
For developing the standard of living for slum people, Abbas promised of arranging free medical treatment and primary education for them; farmers’ markets would also be set up for helping marginal farmers.
The manifesto also said the central jail would be shifted to Keraniganj, while its current location in Old Dhaka would be used for building an entertainment centre. Pollution of the Buriganga River would also be solved, and a walkway constructed on its riverbank, the candidate promised.
He also pledged of shifting the city’s chemical industries away from residential areas and uprooting the city’s drug problem.
To make Dhaka a clean city, he promised afforestation in the parks and open spaces, and building a sanitary landfill for a modern waste management system. For this, he promised of taking steps to collect waste from door-to-door and removing all city waste between 12am and 5am.
Mirza Abbas could not be present in the programme yesterday as the court had not yet provided him with bail, said BNP Standing Committee member Brig Gen (Retd) Hannan Shah.
Afroza Abbas, who read out the manifesto instead, said: “When I campaign on behalf of Abbas, law enforcers and the ruling party activists harass and threaten us continuously. So I request the voters of Dhaka South to save my honour as I am the wife of your son [Abbas].”