Four Years of Dhaka Mayors: Failures stifle successes
Dhaka's two mayors, who step into the fifth year of their tenure this week, have largely failed in their fight against mosquitoes.
Before taking charge, Sheikh Fazle Nur Taposh and Atiqul Islam made promises of lowering air pollution. But Dhaka air continues to be among the worst in the world.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The mayors, however, can be lauded for promptly removing the waste generated during Eid-ul-azha. Last year, most neighbourhoods were cleaned within hours. They also freed several canals from grabbers, and re-excavated the old channel of the Buriganga.
Mayor Atiqul took the helm of Dhaka North City Corporation on May 13, 2020, and Mayor Taposh of Dhaka South City Corporation three days later.
Before the election held on February 1 that year, Atiqul and Taposh, both nominated by the ruling Awami League, pledged in their manifestos to rid the city of mosquitoes.
Atiqul's other promises included making the northern part of the city healthy, vibrant and modern while Taposh's campaign said the southern part would be beautiful, well-governed and developed.
Experts and urban planners said at the time that the two candidates made many promises that city corporations had no jurisdiction or capacity to implement.
Atiqul promised to set up an Integrated Vector Management System that would work with the help of the health ministry, the Wasa, and the DSCC to effectively tackle mosquitoes.
Taposh said he would destroy the mosquito breeding grounds on a regular basis.
But in 2023, at least 980 people died of dengue in the city and many others were seriously ill. The city corporations spent over Tk 500 crore on mosquito control efforts, but the health directorate in a pre-monsoon survey found the highest density in mosquito population in five years.
Taposh told The Daily Star last week that so many people died because they did not get proper care. He argued that other countries also see dengue outbreaks but fewer people die there.
Regarding air quality, Atiqul pledged to cut pollution through mist blowers and modern technology while Taposh also made similar promises.
But the World Air Quality Report 2023 named Dhaka as the second worst capital.
Both mayors told this newspaper that they would reduce air pollution and plant a large number of trees.
Atiqul added that his office would be paperless, and thanks to technology, people would not have to go there in person to get services.
In the last four years, the DNCC evicted grabbers and removed garbage from Lautala and Ramchandrapur canals in Mohammadpur, Paris canal in Mirpur and Shutibhola canal in Satarkul. It also evicted grabbers from 26 parks and playgrounds.
The DSCC has excavated and ensured water flow through the Old Channel of the Buriganga, started restoration and beautification along 8.7 kilometres of Manda canal. The corporation is currently removing waste and evicting grabbers from Jirani canal in Manda, Kalunagar canal in Hazaribagh, and Shyampur canal in Shyampur.
The mayors also hope to generate electricity from waste.
On their campaign trails and on different occasions, Atiqul and Taposh said flooded neighbourhoods would be a thing of the past.
The corporations clean the drains and have breathed new life into the canals, but city dwellers still see waterlogged streets in monsoon.
To reduce traffic congestion, Taposh's camp said they would regulate public transport by having separate lanes for fast and slow-moving vehicles, while Atiqul vowed to introduce dedicated transport for students. Both of them pledged to implement late mayor Annisul Huq's plan for Bus Route Rationalisation (BRR), which they said would bring discipline on roads. The BRR project started with 150 buses, but currently has 30.
A study by the US-based National Bureau of Economic Research last year ranked Dhaka as the slowest city in the world. The World Bank and Buet's Accident Research Institute in a report said average speed of vehicles on Dhaka streets was 4.8km/h in 2022.
Taposh made good on his promise of increasing revenue without raising taxes. DSCC collected Tk 703 crore in 2020-2021, Tk 879 crore in 2021-2022, and Tk 1,031 crore in 2022-23 fiscal years.
Both of them said they would evict vendors from footpaths. The corporations conducted several drives, but the footpaths still remain occupied.
Adil Mohammed Khan, president of Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), said, "The mayors were sincere in combating mosquitoes. But their programmes were ineffective because they were not taken on time."
Adil lauded DNCC for receiving citizen's complaints through an app.
Local governance expert Tofail Ahmed said everyone who participated in city elections made pledges beyond their jurisdiction.
"Candidates make lofty promises on their manifesto, knowing that they can't implement those. It has become a tradition. It is nothing but betrayal to the voters," he added.
In 1608, Dhaka was made a provincial capital during the Mughal era. It was declared a municipality in 1864. After Bangladesh became independent, Dhaka was made the capital of the country. In 1990, a city corporation was formed to run it.
On November 29, 2011, the government split the city corporation through the Local Government Amendment Bill-2011, saying that bifurcation would improve civic amenities. On February 1, 2012, DNCC and DSCC started their journey.
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