The mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation last week announced that a number of roads and streets would be renamed after eminent literary exponents, journalists and artistes besides the name of freedom fighters. He argued that the personalities would be honoured by doing so, and citizens would be proud of them.
The intention of the city corporation is good, no doubt. Naming roads and streets after eminent personalities is a healthy culture. However, many inhabitants in Dhaka are unaware of the individuals whose names are tagged with roads and streets. Although they regularly walk through the streets or drive on the roads, the names spark little interest among many. How many people living around Bayley Road know it is named after Sir Stuart Colvin Bayley, a British civil servant and Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal from 1887 to 1890? In 2005, the road was renamed as Natok Soroni in Bangla meaning' theatre road.' Nevertheless, it is still known as Bayley Road.
One and a half decades ago, the city corporation renamed 67 roads in the capital city after freedom fighters and language movement heroes, thanks to the initiative the undivided city corporation took. Unfortunately, people still use old names and do not even bother to learn about new ones. The conditions of the plaques inscribed with the names and brief introductions of the individuals are piteous in many places. When someone turns to enter the street stretching the Segunbagicha neighbourhood from Shahid Nazrul Islam Road, they will find the half-broken tablet inscribing the name and identity of Dr Qazi Motahar Hussain. The street was named after the eminent thinker, statistician and chess master. Though this kind of negligence is disappointing, no one should be taken aback by it. Ignorance of history or disrespect to heritage is common in this part of the world.
Again, it is also not entirely a matter of an indifferent attitude to heritage or history. Sometimes, inadequate attention to citizens' necessities and concerns by the authorities frustrates people. Without keeping the walkways and street sides free from illegal encroachment by makeshift vendors, moves to rename the roads and streets matter little to residents and commuters. Months after months, they have to suffer due to the absence of barrier-free walkways and safe streets to move smoothly.
One city corporation mayor announced renaming the roads and streets in the presence of councillors of different wards. To many, this sounds humorous, as many of these councillors backed the illegal encroachments in their locality, ignoring the residents' troubles. In many areas, residents are fed up with uncontrolled mosquitoes, as the local councillors are not active enough to address the issue. The list may be long, and the city corporation cannot solve all the problems as many other agencies are involved.
It also does not mean there is no need to rename the roads and streets after eminent personalities. It is also a universally accepted way of publicly honouring those persons' achievements. It sometimes helps make young people curious about the lives and works of those people. Some argue that street names are a 'physical marker' of history. The names assist people in figuring out where they are and talk about where they have been and where they are heading -- literally and allegorically. So, let the city corporation go ahead with its plan and let the inhabitants participate in this effort. At the same time, the city corporation should be more active in ensuring the optimal use of the roads and streets by keeping them free from illegal encroachment.
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