As part of its ongoing Clean Dhaka 20Sixteen campaign, the Dhaka South City Corporation has requested the government to use its billboards instead of sticking ministry advertisements haphazardly in the city.
Dhaka south Mayor Sayeed Khokon recently wrote to Senior Secretary to the Finance Ministry, Mahbub Ahmed, seeking the government’s assistance for the new cleanliness programme.
The mayor requested the top officials of the various ministries and divisions to allow government advertisements, posters, leaflets, cutouts and festoons in the streets, walls of high-rise buildings, central reservations, islands and electricity poles, especially on special national days and ahead of big events.
The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) advised the government to put the advertisements and publicity materials up on city corporation billboards, or on print and electronic media.
In that way, the DSCC, which is now running with a Tk300 crore fund shortage, to earn some much needed cash by renting out its billboard to the government offices.
The City Corporation Act 2009 stipulates that one of the sources of income for the city corporations could be tax earning from public and private advertisements.
The DSCC mayor’s letter also said that they would coordinate with the Dhaka North City Corporation as well in this regard.
On January 26, Mayor Khokon launched DSCC’s “Clean Dhaka 20Sixteen” campaign as part of his pledge to make Dhaka a clean city within a year.
Khokon yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have decided to remove illegal government advisements from billboards and building walls for the sake of reinstating the beauty of the 400-year-old city.”
He also said: “We will discuss the matter with the government agencies regarding removing illegal advisements.”
