Councillors to meet locals monthly: Atiq

There will be monthly meetings between ward councillors and locals in each area every month if he is elected, so that residents can hold the councillor responsible for their work and also can talk about their problems, Awami League DNCC mayor candidate Atiqul Islam said yesterday.

“People allege that after the election, councillors get disconnected from people. If I am elected, I will arrange meetings in every area with councillors to hold them accountable of their activities. At the meetings, there will be journalists and locals as well,” he told reporters in Pallabi before starting his campaign.

“If we do not hold the meetings, we will be detached from people. I want to build a city corporation based on accountability,” he added.  

After a meeting at Jatiya Press Club, Atiqul came to Pallabi (ward-2) to seek votes around 3pm. Local AL and Jubo League leaders accompanied Atiqul throughout the campaign in the area.

Replying to a question from journalists to compare his manifesto with other mayoral candidates, he replied, “I welcome all the manifestos [from mayor candidates]. They all are for the betterment of the city.”

“But the manifesto that I revealed to public was based on my nine months of experience as mayor. There is nothing impractical in my manifesto,” he said, adding that if elected, he will solve problems of the city in light of the manifesto.

Regarding the pledge of online tax facilities in his manifesto, he said, “There will be no increase of taxes. Instead, it will make the payment hassle-free for the people.”

“With this online system, no city corporation officials can engage in corruption. Thus, the revenue will be higher for the city corporation automatically,” he added.

Regarding the challenges if elected, Atiqul said preventing mosquitos is one of the major issues, and he will be active in driving mosquitoes away round the year.