Did You Take my dustbin?

As part of the Clean Dhaka 2016 campaign, an initiative undertaken by the Mayor to make Dhaka a more liveable city, the capital has recently seen installation of around 5000 dustbins in numerous key points. These waste bins are to help reduce the intolerable amount of garbage and rubbish that constantly float around the city. The mayor should be lauded for at least taking the initiative. Think of it as a “participatory medal”. At least someone is trying. The problem is that someone else is trying to rain on the mayor's parade and instead of using the waste bins for disposal, a vested quarter are stealing them instead. 

Now, you'd be forgiven for wondering who on earth would steal dustbins of all things. Well, they are probably the same people who steal sewer lids and light from the streetlights. It seems the drug addicts and the anti-liberation forces are at it again and this is a growing concern. But, even more concerning is the general reaction to the dustbins. They are placed too far apart. Now, let's face it, we are all for saving the environment and cutting down our carbon footprints and what have you, but not at the expense of walking for literally five whole minutes. Why not provide the citizens with portable trash cans? This would also probably cut down theft. 

The dustbins, again, are a wonderful idea. And they are also quite versatile in their usage, although the versatility in this case is a little unexpected. Dhaka also lacks public toilets and apparently these dustbins have done a wonderful job as a makeshift 'you know what'. This kind of activity though happens at night. Ironically, when the mayor asked us to dispose of our waste at the night time after 7:00 pm as one of the other strokes of genius of tackling the waste problem, this is certainly not what he meant. But dual usage of anything can almost always be cost effective. 

As for those stealing the trash cans, it's certainly not the crash collectors. In yet another directive according to a February 10th Star Online Report, the Dhaka South City Corporation decided in February to track all the 5,216 cleaners (exclusive of the members of the alleged toothless ACC) of the city to ensure they do their work with “transparency and accountability”. The tracking would be done through their mobile sim cards and while we can think of a 1000 other public servants who need this kind of tracking more urgently, it does ensure that the cleaners will certainly not steal the waste baskets. 

In fact, stealing of waste baskets shouldn't even be a topic because our vigilant forces have reminded us time and again that we have nothing to panic about, such as crime. What is even a crime in Dhaka? It's all political anyway. Forgive and forget till you are elected. In the meantime may we suggest embedding the trash cans with tracking chips? We can institute a rule where each trash can has a biometric registration at the same time so we can track it, watch over all its activities at any time, snoop around its contents for dangerous things and of course do it all in order to keep it safe. 

On the end note, if you are the new trash can stealer and are reading this then we urge you to stop. We don't care if you think this is the best solution or not since you don't really have a better one and even if you did you clearly never had the ability to execute. So stop littering and wait till you see these cans somewhere and with 5000 of them around, you'll be sure to find one. Unless they are stolen or a bus is parked where the can used to be. Yes. That happens.