City Father helpless!

Staff Reporter :
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Annisul Huq on Saturday said that despite being the city father, he has no authority to deal with some 80 per cent problems being faced by the dwellers.
The mayor was talking to the editors of the print and online media at a views-exchange meeting at hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon in city.
Mayor Annisul Huq said that Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), RAJUK, Deputy Commissioner Office, DESCO, Titas, Traffic Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and other organisations are responsible to deal with the 80 per cent problems of the capital city.
 “My job is to oversee problems relating to parks, streetlights and waste management,” he said.  
He said to make the city dwellers free from traffic congestion, water logging, and removing illegal and political billboards are not his responsibility.
 “Yet, we have declared some 10 specific areas-Tejgaon, Mohakhali, Karwanbazar, Gabtoli, Shamoli, Kollayanpur, Abdullahpur, Mohammadpur, Pallabi and Japan City Garden — as parking free roads,” he said.
Besides, he said over 20,000 illegal and political billboards have been removed from the city streets by the DNCC authority.
Annisul Huq requested the media to build up awareness through writing stories to make the city sound and keep it clean.
Referring to the water logging in city, he said that he has only authority to clean the roadside drains for smooth passage of dirty water.
 “Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) is responsible to clean the storm and sewerage drains. If the storm and sewerage drains are filled up with garbage and other wastages, it is very simple that rainwater can’t pass through them resulting in severe water logging in most of the city roads,” Annisul Huq said.
He added they do not want the whole WASA area under DNCC’s purview, but its some areas where WASA can’t work.
 “If the DNCC gets the authority, it will take only one or two years to solve the city’s nagging water-logging,” he said, adding yet initiatives have already been taken to overcome the water logging problems.
Referring to lakes and canals, he said these water bodies are not under DNCC’s authority.
 “Canals are under jurisdiction of Deputy Commissioner (DC), while lakes and large parks under that of Rajuk,” he said, adding they want the canals, lakes and all parks under DNCC authority.
He said as part of their move to ease traffic congestion, they are going to introduce 3,000 new comfortable buses on different routes in the capital city through some private operators.
 “We’ve already reached an understanding with five companies to introduce 3,000 new comfortable buses in the city. We’ve also got permission from the Prime Minister in this regard,” said Mayor Annisul Huq.
He also said the DNCC is installing 1,200 strong CCTV cameras at different points to monitor and control traffic.
 “We are continuing the eviction drive to make the city clean and disciplined. Accountability, transparency, mentality in service providing and integrity have already been established by this time,” he said.
He said more than 100 schools are to be constructed for the slum children in a bid to provide them basic education.