Mayors should clean up their mess
In the run-up to the Dhaka city corporation polls, candidates were criticised for their indiscriminate use of laminated posters that seemed to cover every inch of this city, especially in the final two weeks before the February 1 election. This occurred despite a High Court order in mid-January that asked all concerned to immediately stop the production and display of these posters, which clearly fell on deaf ears. All mayoral aspirants promised their voters a clean and beautiful city, all the while enveloping the city with a potentially toxic material that will never biodegrade and is almost impossible to recycle.
It is extremely disappointing, to say the least, to see such a flagrant disregard for the environment displayed by the candidates including our newly appointed mayors even before they stepped into office. Now the question is: are we, the taxpayers, responsible for clearing up this clutter? Or, will the DSCC and DNCC authorities take responsibility for this situation and do what they should have done long ago?
We urge the mayors to prove their commitment to their voters and uphold their pledges by immediately cleaning up the mess that they have created along with others. However, since it was their personal decision to cover the city with laminated posters, they should use their own resources—not that of the mayor's office—for the purpose. We urge the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to take the lead on this and collaborate with them so that the posters can be cleared up in the least harmful way.
The most obvious fear is that these posters will eventually find their way into the drains of Dhaka and create waterlogging, but even if this is dealt with, there is still the question of how to dispose of the plastic itself. It will not degrade in landfills, and burning plastic is extremely hazardous for health and therefore out of the question. Whatever route of waste management is taken, the damage to the environment has already been done—now the only thing to do is to try and minimise it.
We strongly recommend that in future elections, the Election Commission outlaw the use of laminated posters to prevent such unnecessary damage being done to the environment. We also ask our mayors and all other political aspirants to be mindful of the consequences of their actions in the future, especially since we are already living in one of the world's most polluted cities. Earning votes is one thing, but if the new mayors want to earn and keep the trust and respect of the people of Dhaka, they must immediately take responsibility for their actions and make sure such mistakes are not repeated again.
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