Dalbajee in public utility organisations
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Khalilur Rahman
Our outspoken Local Government & Rural Development (LGRD) minister and general secretary of ruling Awami League warned against dalbajee (partisanship activities) in public utility organisations last week. While speaking at the silver jubilee celebration of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), the minister asked the Collective Bargaining Agency (CBA) leaders of the organization to work in close cooperation with each other and ensure water supply and sewerage facilities to the city dwellers. He reminded the union leaders that there is no scope of dalbajee in rendering service to the people.
What the LGRD minister has told the union leaders of WASA is equally applicable to all other organisations like gas, electricity, Dhaka City Corportation (DCC), telephone, RAJUK, RHD, PHE, etc. It is known to all that dalbajee in most of the agencies have defeated the purpose for which these organisations were built. For over the years, clash of interest among the workers engaged in providing utility services has caused sufferings to the tax payers. The elected union leaders and their equally powerful rivals, at times, indulge in open confrontations, thus, creating an anarchic situation which hampers normal work. There are allegations that the CBA leaders frequently influence promotion, transfer, appointment of staff and secure undue benefits for themselves and their favoured men at the cost of tax payers' money. In some cases utility services are provided to the consumers in exchange of money which the union leaders call bakshish.
At a time when acute power shortage has gravely affected the domestic consumers as well as production in fields and factories, a section of unscrupulous but powerful employees are allowing illegal use of electricity. This illegal use deprives the genuine subscribers as it aggravates power shortage. The concerned authority euphemistically terms the shortage a systems loss. But it is outright theft.
There is another major problem persisting in utility organisations. This relates to lack of coordination among these organisations which results in loss of money, time and energy. The city dwellers often find the diggings of road, construction and reconstruction of footpaths which continue for almost round the year. We have already pointed out in this column that when a road is dug for laying WASA pipes, some other agencies like gas, electricity or telephone do not undertake their work at the site. After the WASA completes its work and the dug-out portion of the road is carpeted, another organization comes to the spot and excavates the road at the same place. The problem turns acute for the travelling public when roads are dug during monsoon.
Absence of coordination among these agencies has been prevailing for quite a long time. The Financial Express in its issue of December 08 last reported that the communications ministry and the RAJUK has undertaken a project on the construction of a tunnel connecting Jahangir Gate with Rokeya Sarani at Agargaon in the city. Both the authorities started proceeding with the same project without knowing each other's venture. The RAJUK, The FE report says, has drawn up a scheme to construct the tunnel for the commuters on which the communications ministry has been working for the last nine months without the least knowledge of the RAJUK plan. Undertaking of the same project by two agencies was known during an inter-ministerial meeting to coordinate development works with communications minister Syed Abul Hossain in the chair on December 07 last.
There are some other anomalies in functioning of the utility organisations. We squarely blame DCC for deplorable condition of city roads and inundation of those following a light to moderate rain. Faulty drainage system is responsible for waterlogging. This not only causes utmost inconvenience to the movement of travelling public but prolonged inundation also damages roads. For this damage DCC is not at all responsible as the sewerage division is under Dhaka WASA.
Therefore, we feel, removal of those anomalies afflicting public utility bodies is also essential along with eradicating Dalbajee.
E-mail : khalilbdh@gmail.com
Our outspoken Local Government & Rural Development (LGRD) minister and general secretary of ruling Awami League warned against dalbajee (partisanship activities) in public utility organisations last week. While speaking at the silver jubilee celebration of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), the minister asked the Collective Bargaining Agency (CBA) leaders of the organization to work in close cooperation with each other and ensure water supply and sewerage facilities to the city dwellers. He reminded the union leaders that there is no scope of dalbajee in rendering service to the people.
What the LGRD minister has told the union leaders of WASA is equally applicable to all other organisations like gas, electricity, Dhaka City Corportation (DCC), telephone, RAJUK, RHD, PHE, etc. It is known to all that dalbajee in most of the agencies have defeated the purpose for which these organisations were built. For over the years, clash of interest among the workers engaged in providing utility services has caused sufferings to the tax payers. The elected union leaders and their equally powerful rivals, at times, indulge in open confrontations, thus, creating an anarchic situation which hampers normal work. There are allegations that the CBA leaders frequently influence promotion, transfer, appointment of staff and secure undue benefits for themselves and their favoured men at the cost of tax payers' money. In some cases utility services are provided to the consumers in exchange of money which the union leaders call bakshish.
At a time when acute power shortage has gravely affected the domestic consumers as well as production in fields and factories, a section of unscrupulous but powerful employees are allowing illegal use of electricity. This illegal use deprives the genuine subscribers as it aggravates power shortage. The concerned authority euphemistically terms the shortage a systems loss. But it is outright theft.
There is another major problem persisting in utility organisations. This relates to lack of coordination among these organisations which results in loss of money, time and energy. The city dwellers often find the diggings of road, construction and reconstruction of footpaths which continue for almost round the year. We have already pointed out in this column that when a road is dug for laying WASA pipes, some other agencies like gas, electricity or telephone do not undertake their work at the site. After the WASA completes its work and the dug-out portion of the road is carpeted, another organization comes to the spot and excavates the road at the same place. The problem turns acute for the travelling public when roads are dug during monsoon.
Absence of coordination among these agencies has been prevailing for quite a long time. The Financial Express in its issue of December 08 last reported that the communications ministry and the RAJUK has undertaken a project on the construction of a tunnel connecting Jahangir Gate with Rokeya Sarani at Agargaon in the city. Both the authorities started proceeding with the same project without knowing each other's venture. The RAJUK, The FE report says, has drawn up a scheme to construct the tunnel for the commuters on which the communications ministry has been working for the last nine months without the least knowledge of the RAJUK plan. Undertaking of the same project by two agencies was known during an inter-ministerial meeting to coordinate development works with communications minister Syed Abul Hossain in the chair on December 07 last.
There are some other anomalies in functioning of the utility organisations. We squarely blame DCC for deplorable condition of city roads and inundation of those following a light to moderate rain. Faulty drainage system is responsible for waterlogging. This not only causes utmost inconvenience to the movement of travelling public but prolonged inundation also damages roads. For this damage DCC is not at all responsible as the sewerage division is under Dhaka WASA.
Therefore, we feel, removal of those anomalies afflicting public utility bodies is also essential along with eradicating Dalbajee.
E-mail : khalilbdh@gmail.com