Bifurcated DCCs ‘fail’ to deliver

Although two years have elapsed since the bifurcation of the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) into two administrative zones, north and south, it has failed to yield any tangible benefits for the city dwellers. According to experts and officials, the much-debated bifurcation has, in fact, weakened the services for lack of manpower and ‘mismanagement’. The unprecedented delay in holding the elections to the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) is also adding up to the lacuna between what is chartered and what is delivered to the citizens, they added. The city residents have seen no DCC election for more than 11 years as the last polls in the integrated city corporation were held on April 25, 2002. Noted urban planner Prof Nazrul Islam said, “Although the government has split the Dhaka City Corporation with a promise to ensure better civic service, it has failed to show something tangible or positive. I’ll rather say that the standard of services has declined (in the two corporations).” Prof Nazrul went on: “Civic nuisances in the capital have continued to thrive – the city dwellers are deprived of free walkways, better roads, ample lighting and hassle-free traffic system. Rickshaws can ply everywhere as there’s no control over their movement while garbage and dirt flood the city roads in many areas in absence of proper waste management system.” Naser Alam, a city resident living at Baridhara area under DNC, said despite the splitting of the city corporation, citizens are getting lesser services compared to the past. He alleged that the city corporation authorities have failed to take any noticeable step to control the mosquito menace or to clean up clogged up drains and cloaked sewerage lines. In November 2011, the Local Government Ministry split the erstwhile Dhaka City Corporation into two administration zones — DNCC and DSCC — with a mandate to ensure better services to the city residents, according to a news agency.