Mayfair, a young military official in the Commonwealth forces during the age of Cromwell who was promoted to colonel in his 30s, is the heroic protagonist of Mark Twain’s most popular short stories. The story is about three colonels of the Commonwealth army who were ordered to fake an attack on their enemies so that the force could retreat, as the generals in the army had deemed the battle impossible to win.
However, the three colonels defected in their style and, in a desperate bid to win the battle, actually attacked their foes, ending up with a victory for the Commonwealth army, negating the predictions made by the generals.
Though the actual story is about a totally different event and was inspired by the execution of John Poyer, the battle in that story depicts how the passion of the young can change the game with their spirit of thinking the impossible possible.
However, analysing the reality of Dhaka, many have concluded that it is impossible to revive a city recently ranked the second least livable city in the world, slightly better off than the war-torn Damascus. I assume they forgot about the youths of the city, who have the potential to change their city into a liveable one.
The political parties, however, have counted on the youth extending their support to the young leaders of the parties, so that they may choose them as the mayoral candidates in Dhaka, especially in the north.
The BNP’s candidate, Tabith Mohammed Awal, a George Washington University graduate who is now serving as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Multimode Group, is the youngest among all the candidates who have declared their candidacy for Dhaka North City Corporation. His academic excellence has made him a very astute businessman. He has also served as the Director of National Bank Limited and is currently serving as the Vice-President of Bangladesh Football Federation.
Additionally, he is a footballer who used to play for Feni Soccer Club. Feni Soccer Club, under his active leadership, managed to finish fourth in the Bangladesh League in 2009-2010. Tabith, a veritable admirer of football, is now the Chairman of the club.
Tabith Awal has gained valuable experience throughout his career within a short period by serving in different organisations, starting from his family business to the national governing body of football. It is believed that he has the potential to become a better mayor.
Tabith Awal has pledged to create a new Dhaka for the new generation. His new Dhaka will be a safer one, a Dhaka where the water crisis will be solved, the adulteration of food will be prevented, and the traffic jams will be reduced. Moreover, he has brought some new ideas to the table, like setting up health booths, knowledge centres, 3R waste management etc.
It seems that the manifesto of Tabith has focused on the day-to-day problems of Dhaka. Tabith, who is a Masters graduate in IT, has emphasised the use of technology to solve the problems Dhaka continues to face.
On the other hand, Zonayed Saki, the chief coordinator of the Gonoshonghoti Andolon, is among those youths who are dreaming of changing the northern part of the capital. Saki, who comes from a leftist political background, has always been vocal on the problems faced by the common people in their everyday life all through his political career.
Zonayed Saki has declared he will provide special financial schemes for the purchase of bicycles with a view to encouraging the use of environment-friendly transport in the roads of the capital. In addition to solving the traffic problem, he has proposed to empower his corporation by buying new public buses if the BRTC fails to increase the number of buses it has under its wing.
Abdullah Al Kafee, the CPB-BSD backed mayoral candidate for DNCC, is another young gun who believes in bringing change in Dhaka North.
Kafee, a left-leaning politician, will provide saplings to all city schools and colleges under a forestation project to make the city “green.” He also pledges to install Wi-Fi network in popular spots throughout the city. Kafee is running the race under the slogan “A liveable Dhaka for all.”
Another candidate with the torch of young hope for the north is Mahi B Chowdhury. Mahi B Chowdhury, a former BNP-backed MP and a Bikalpa Dhara leader, is determined to build a city for the next generation if elected.
Mahi has promised to set up a disaster management department and a department to prevent air, sound, water, and soil pollution. He has said that if elected as mayor, he will install CCTVs everywhere and establish more medical college hospitals to ensure that, at the least, health services are available to mothers, children, and elderly citizens.
No doubt all these candidates are prudent and energetic enough to bring changes in the northern part of the capital and to turn it into a liveable one. But only one of them can reach that place. For him, the best way to bring change is to join hands and march arm in arm with all the candidates for a better Dhaka, the Dhaka we have all dreamt of.
