Litter-free Dhaka still a distant dream: experts
Littering continues to ruin the beauty and environment of the capital due to apathy of the authorities concerned, lack of awareness among people and absence of law enforcement, according to experts.
They said mayors of the two city corporations had promised to make Dhaka a beautiful and clean city, but they have so far failed to come up with any well-thought-out plan, action and campaign programme to address the perennial problem.
Dhaka streets continue to bear the brunt as it has become a destination for plastic and other bottles, cans, cigarette stubs and packets, papers, paper bags, waste from food items, coconut shells, tissue papers, household waste, clothes and solid waste.
In 2016, the two city corporations set up around 6,700 trash bins to curb littering, but most of those were either damaged or stolen within a year. Urban experts think unplanned installation, lack of maintenance and public awareness are the key reasons behind failure of this initiative.
Talking to the news agency, Prof Nazrul Islam, a renowned urban expert, said the situation is getting worse gradually for lack of good governance and irresponsible attitude of the city corporations.
He said people are also not aware and they throw waste everywhere without thinking about its negative impact. “If you look around, you’ll find trash everywhere. We must raise awareness among people to change their habit.”
Stating that littering is a social crime which affects the environment, Nazrul said the government should enforce law and fine those who litter. Also, shop owners have to keep their premises clean.
“This problem does not exist in the cantonment area as people there obey the law and are aware of the adverse effects of littering,” he said.
Environment activist and architect Iqbal Habib said littering is considered a crime and people responsible for it are fined in many cities across the world.
The authorities concerned should make it a social crime and penalise people for committing the crime, he added.
Habib said though the two mayors promised to turn Dhaka into a clean and beautiful city, the capital has become an ugly one. “The mayors did not take any well-planned measure or build durable infrastructures to resolve the problem.”
He said there are no trash bins within two-three kilometre areas along the road to dump waste. “In Singapore, you’ll find three-four bins within a half kilometer area with warnings of being fined... We need such a system.”
He said the city corporations installed faulty and unsuitable trash bins in an unplanned way that is why those were either stolen or got damaged. “Durable trash bins were set up at Hatirjheel in a planned way several years back and all of those still remain intact.”
Habib said local community must be involved with the efforts to address the problem. “A community’s problem should be resolved with participation of its members. We can create volunteers in every area who will detect people involved in such bad practice and make them aware.”
Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba) Chairman Abu Naser Khan said littering is largely a cultural problem. He said it is the main responsibility of the city corporations to keep the city clean, but they are not playing their due role in this regard.
“Our government, city corporations and other authorities concerned don’t consider littering a serious problem. That is why this problem is persisting and worsening,” said the Poba chairperson.
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) General Secretary MA Matin said, “Littering is a serious problem in Dhaka as it’s an over populated city, with number of its residents growing day by day. But no effective step has been taken to address the issue.”
Matin said littering is not only ruining the beauty of the capital, but also causing air, soil and water pollution. “This issue needs to be taken seriously by both the authorities and city dwellers,” he stressed.
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