Mayoral cleaning drive in Dhaka

THE announcement of a massive cleaning drive to be led by the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) is set to provoke mixed reactions. It has been learnt that the corporation is vying to be on the list of the Guinness Book of World Records. Many will find the exercise inane, and merely a costly ritual. The event is set to take place on April 13. It will, undoubtedly, get a wide media coverage. The very spectacle of one of the two mayors of Dhaka leading an approximately 15,000-strong army of enthusiastic cleaning volunteers will indeed be awe-inspiring. The venue of the mass cleaning event will cover the road from Golap Shah Mazar in Gulistan area to Jatiya Press Club via Muktangon. Dhaka has not witnessed such an event before. In this context, the cleaning drive will be extraordinary.
Despite the pomp and pageantry associated with the programme, many are not impressed by the coming mayoral drive. These people mainly comprise of those suffering the ordeals of life made miserable by municipal waste and various types of garbage. The city has in place hundreds of giant dumpsters in different neighbourhoods. They remain filled to the capacity day in and day out. Garbage from many of them spill over on the nearby roads and public places. Detractors continue to point the finger at the poor waste management as one of the reasons behind Dhaka's infamy as an unliveable city. Given this situation, proper functionality of the city's waste disposal operation warrants the utmost attention.
There are few objections to a city mayor emerging as media-savvy. The DSCC mayor has left his mark in some areas of municipal responsibilities. But the city residents want him to be pragmatic and properly focused on his pledge to build a clean and beautiful Dhaka. We are not sure how far a mass cleaning drive will take the mayor in reality.
Mia Khairuzzaman
Nimtoli, Dhaka