Members of civil society on Thursday observed that splitting Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) would not ensure better civic services rather it would serve the political interests of the ruling Awami League. The observation came at a round-table discussion on “Division of Dhaka City Corporation and Relevant Thought,” which was organised by Sushashoner Jonne Nagorik (Sujan) at the Jatiya Press Club in the city. M Hafizuddin Khan, who advised the former caretaker government, chaired the discussion.
Urging the government not to divide the DCC, the former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University (DU), Prof. Dr. Emajuddin Ahmed, said the government had taken the decision with malicious intentions.
“The government should refrain from breaking the DCC before the people rejected the decision. Rather, it should focus on how to strengthen the city corporation and increase civic amenities for city dwellers,” he added.
Journalist Monir Haider presented the keynote paper on “Government’s Decision of Dividing Dhaka: Civic Demands and People’s Thought”.
Another former vice-chancellor of DU, Moniruzzaman Miah, said splitting DCC would not increase the standards of its services rather it would pave the way for corruption. The government should pay more attention to ensure better services for the city dwellers by strengthening DCC, he added. It is a tyrannical decision and illogical too, and also a violation of the constitutional provision, columnist Syed Abul Maksud said.
“According to the Constitution, Dhaka would be the capital of Bangladesh but if it is divided into two, which part would be the capital? The decision of the government is not to ensure better services rather it would serve the ruling party’s petty interests,” he observed.
“The decision is the creation of a person to create another mayoral post in DCC to fulfil their interests. But such a decision clearly shows the failure of the government to run the country,” Maksud said.
The government is dividing DCC not in the interest of the people rather it is doing it only to please a person, said the president of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, ASM Abdur Rob.
“If DCC is divided in the interest of the people, we will support it but if it serves only political interests, it is not acceptable,” he added. Hafizuddin Khan said: “The split of DCC is the outcome of a bizarre thinking. If it is divided, there will not be any coordination among service-providing agencies.”
Prof. Abdul Mannan Khan, Haider Akbar Khan Rono, presidium member of Bangladesh Communist party, and Badiul Alam Majumdar, general secretary of Sujan, among others, spoke on the occasion.
-With The Independent input
