All of the mayoral hopefuls at the “Meet Dhaka” debate organised by the Dhaka Tribune and ATN News at the Krishibid Institute agreed that political leadership is crucial to building a liveable Dhaka city.
Among the northern contenders, the city government concept was a source of considerable debate.
While Dhaka city’s first elected mayor Mohammad Hanif coined the city government concept, he did not succeed in getting it implemented.
BNP-backed mayoral candidate Tabith M Awal, Bikalpadhara-backed candidate Mahi B Chowdhury, Gono Sanghati-backed candidate Zonayed Saki and CPB and BSD-backed candidate Abdullah Al Kafi all favour the city government concept.
But Awami League-backed candidate Annisul Huq said close coordination with the government was sufficient for making the city habitable and modern. He said it was not the right time to form a city government.
At the “Meet Dhaka” programme, participants briefly described their reasons for contesting the polls and then the floor was opened to the audience to ask questions determined by Facebook and SMS polls.
Annisul Huq said: “I never dreamt of running for mayor of a city corporation. I decided to join the elections after getting the proposal of the prime minister and receiving her assurance of support in implementing my plans for the city.”
Regarding waste management, Annisul said he planned to recycle and also generate some 100 to 130MW of electricity as a by-product.
Tabith, indirectly addressing the issue without directing his comments at anyone, said: “It is not possible to produce electricity because the moisture content of city garbage is high.”
Annisul said his experience running several businesses prepared him for the job while Tabith said he had worked for Dhaka city for the last 15 years. Mahi, Saki and Kafi said the mayoral post was political and required political experience.
Contenders for the top job in the south also exchanged views and answered questions.
Dhaka South City Corporation mayoral aspirant Sayeed Khokon pledged to transform the city into a more liveable metropolis within a year.
Southern candidates stressed the importance of improving the quality of the city’s water supply, public health, waste management and sewage facilities.
Tackling traffic congestion, restoring playgrounds and building recreation centres also figured prominently on the candidates’ agendas.
Dhaka South contenders Jatiyo Party-backed Saifuddin Ahmed Milon, independents Golam Mowla Roni and Shahidul Islam, Awami League-backed Sayeed Khokon, Bangladesh Nationalist Front-backed Shafiullah Chowdhury and Communist Party-backed Bazlur Rashid Firoz took part in the debate.
Golam Mowla Roni said he would decrease red tape, while Shafiullah Chowdhury focused on the city’s water-logging problem.
Shahidul Islam favoured increased surveillance using CCTVs to fight crime and terrorism in the city.
Bazlur Rashid Firoz favoured the restoration of canals which he said were a natural drainage system during the rains.
