‘Leaving it to city dwellers to evaluate my performance’
Sayeed Khokon says on 4th anniversary of his mayorship
Lack of coordination among service providers is the biggest issue affecting city management, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon said yesterday.
“Had there been effective coordination among the city service providers, it would’ve been possible to provide planned, apt and organised services,” he remarked.
To justify his observation, Khokon said, “People face a lot of difficulties when road development works are underway. After repairs are done, service providers seek permission to dig the same roads again… If development work could be carried out in a coordinated way, there would not be any need to dig up a road within 5-7 years.”
DSCC organised a press conference at a city hotel to mark fourth anniversary of Khokon’s mayorship.
Responding to a question, Khokon claimed that he is discharging his duties with only 34 percent manpower.
“Though the city corporation was divided into two parts -- DSCC and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), in the last eight years, manpower crisis has not been addressed. It is extremely frustrating and unfortunate,” he said.
Referring to different development works, Khokon said he tried his best in the last four years to provide services to city dwellers.
“I leave it to city dwellers to evaluate my performance,” he said.
Khokon said citizens’ awareness is the driving force of change. “I firmly believe if a citizen becomes conscious alongside our earnest and tireless efforts, this will become a green, liveable and smart city,” he added.
He took oath as mayor of DSCC on May 6, 2015. Khokon took charge with serious pledges and commitments to bring about qualitative change in delivering civic services.
The DSCC mayor highlighted several development works that have taken place in the last four years. He said the city corporation has so far set up 41,133 LED lights on streets; constructed and repaired about 670-kilometre road, 632-kilometre drain and 133.16-kilometre footpaths; solved water logging problems in Shantinagar, Nazimuddin Road, Ganaktuli and Bangshal areas.
Besides these, DSCC took initiatives to develop city’s parks, build foot-bridges, shift chemical factories from old town, and manage waste, the mayor said.