Residents of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) have announced a continuous sit-in program demanding the appointment of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as the mayor of DSCC.
The announcement came from a protest rally held in front of Nagar Bhaban, the DSCC headquarters in Gulistan, on Wednesday afternoon. Protesters said they would resume their program from Thursday morning.
From Wednesday morning, demonstrators gathered outside Nagar Bhaban under the banner “Nagar Bhaban blockade by ordinary voters of Dhaka, organized by: the citizens”, bringing separate processions from various wards.
They said a court had declared Ishraque Hossain the mayor, and a gazette notification had already been published.
They questioned the reason for the delay in his swearing-in and called on the interim government to complete the process without further delay.
They also said that nine months had passed since Sheikh Hasina left the country, yet the residents of Dhaka South had been deprived of basic civic services due to the absence of a mayor.
They said the appointment of several administrators had failed to improve the situation, and the public continued to be deprived of essential services.
According to them, the only way to restore proper civic facilities was to have Ishraque Hossain take the oath as mayor.
Retired senior secretary Mashiur Rahman said various excuses were being made to delay Ishraque’s oath.
“Even after the court’s verdict and the publication of the Election Commission’s gazette, the people’s mayor, Ishraque, is not being given his due responsibility. Because he has not been allowed to take oath, a continuous sit-in has been declared again from Thursday,” he said.
