Hasina bats for slicing Dhaka

Defending the government decision to divide the Dhaka City Corporation area into two, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the move was made to serve the city dwellers better.
“Dhaka city has expanded greatly. Population of the city is increasing every day. But people are not getting proper services,” she said at the swearing-in ceremony for Narayanganj City Corporation mayor and councillors at the Prime Minister's Office.
“We must consider how much service people can get from an elected representative,” she said.
Hasina administered the oath of office to Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy. Local Government and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam administered the swearing in of 36 councillors, including nine women councillors.
The Dhaka city was once just between Dhaka Gate and Bangla Academy but it has gradually expanded up to Uttara. Gulshan was just a village, the prime minister said. The city has now expanded up to Narayanganj in the southeast and up to Tongi in the north.
“The original Dhaka will be one city corporation while the new Dhaka will be under a separate city corporation,” she said, adding that a bill in this regard has been placed in parliament.
According to the plan, Uttara, Gulshan, Badda, Mohakhali, East Rampura, Tejgaon, Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Pallabi and Kafrul will be under the north city corporation while Dhanmondi, Ramna, Motijheel, Sabujbagh, Demra, Khilgaon, Sutrapur, Kotwali and Lalbagh will be in the south city corporation.
She said with the city population increasing, the government has divided the police administration into eight zones to ensure security of city dwellers.
“Many are saying that we are dividing Dhaka, which is not true,” she said, adding, “Some learned people are ranting on televisions against the division of Dhaka City Corporation.”
Hasina said her government wants to empower and decentralise the local government. “We are working on this.” Gazipur will become a city corporation soon, she said.
Assuring the newly elected Narayanganj mayor and councillors of all-out cooperation in their effort to regain the glory of Narayanganj, Hasina asked them to meet the expectations of the people who voted them to office.
She said, “Our government has always emphasised the need for empowering women. It's a matter of pride that we have got a woman mayor. I thank voters of Narayanganj for electing her [Ivy] as the mayor.”
Hasina said, “Through the elections, we have been able to prove that we believe in empowering people.”
IVY'S REACTION
Talking to reporters after taking oath, Ivy expressed her firm commitment to work for the welfare of Narayanganj city. “I will work alongside the people. My experience will help me a lot in this regard,” she said, adding that she would implement her election pledges in phases with the help of the government.