As Bangladesh continues its battle against the global coronavirus pandemic, the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on Monday approved perhaps its most significant and ambitious budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
An encouraging sign in the proposed budget is the emphasis on mosquito control and waste management -- two areas that certainly require the attention of our authorities. Dhaka has had a disease problem for too long now, well before the pandemic was upon us, and there is little doubt that the poor state of our waste management has only exacerbated the issue further.
However, beyond the issue of waste management and disease control, there remain other crucial areas that continue to be neglected, and must also be addressed. In the backdrop of incessant rains this week, we are reminded, once again, of the woefully inadequate the drainage system is in the city, as several areas around the city have been inundated by floodwater.
Water-logging cannot be allowed to continue to be such a problem, year in, year out, despite the thousands of crores spent on road infrastructure and drainage system by both city corporations over the past few years, and it is about time the citizens of Dhaka spend the monsoon without worrying about whether their homes will be flooded, or whether they will even have streets to walk or travel on.
While the budget is significantly higher than last year’s budget, and comes as Dhaka is grappling with the spread of the coronavirus, all eyes will now be on DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam to implement this budget effectively and efficiently, because as it stands, there is much work to be done to fix Dhaka.
