Before the Eid ul-Adha festival, the two Mayors of the Dhaka City Corporations pledged to clean the city within 30 hours. And they delivered on their promise in the most impressive way. 

Led by the Mayors, both the North and the South City Corporations had a carefully designed action plan in place to speed up waste removal after the slaughter of sacrificial animals, taking several measures, from distributing biodegradable sacks for free to engaging with the residents round-the-clock through the electronic media. For the first time, they designated 595 spots for slaughtering animals and provided for enough manpower and logistics to drive the cleanup initiative. 

Perhaps an important factor behind this unusual success was the simple fact that it was carried out with the participation of the public. The Mayors managed to weave a shared vision of getting the job done—together.  

The lessons that can be learned from this experience is this: the responsibility of keeping this city clean and livable does not fall on the shoulders of the government alone. And also, people do respond positively when they are spoken to with sincerity and humility. 

We wholeheartedly congratulate the city corporations as well as the residents of the capital for proving once again that if we are determined to do something, we can do it, no matter how difficult the task appears at first.