Taposh: Basic services ensured for city people

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh has claimed that basic services for the city dwellers have already been ensured as promised.   

Dhaka city, he said, would be developed through a master plan (2020-2050) incorporating a comfortable transport system separating motorized and non-motorized vehicles, a dedicated business zone, a modern drainage system, and recreation centers around canals.   

He was talking to the media on Wednesday at Nagar Bhaban in Dhaka, marking the completion of his one year in office. 

A former lawmaker from Dhaka, Taposh took charge as DSCC mayor on May 16 last year. 

At the program, terming himself successful amid the Covid-19 pandemic, he said: “There were no deaths due to dengue last year as we had taken effective measures. 

“The dengue outbreak did not spread much despite the season already starting then,” he said.

The streets of the city used to be covered with wastes, but the situation had improved a lot due to proper management through secondary waste transfer stations, the mayor said.

He pledged that a waste transfer station would be installed at each ward of the city corporation by this year.

Dubbing waterlogging as a very old problem in the capital, he said: “It is being solved as we have taken many initiatives after taking over the canals and drainage system from Dhaka Wasa.

Referring to the illegal occupation of open spaces and footpaths under the DSCC, he vowed to continue evicting illegal establishments, including shops, at the DSCC-listed markets. 

It may be recalled that the DSCC authorities had launched a large-scale eviction drive against illegally set up shops at city markets on December 8 last year, ignoring huge political pressure.

Taposh went on saying that preparations for a trial run related to bus route rationalization were almost done.

“In the future, we will have dedicated roads for motorized and non-motorized vehicles,” he said.    

The mayor expressed his happiness that the DSCC had achieved its revenue target, generating Tk524crore in the last 11 months in the middle of the pandemic.