Dhaka City Corporation Building: one of the icons of Dhaka City.
Picture Courtesy: The Daily Sun
Shouldn't we require 8 Prime Ministers and 8 Presidents for Bangladesh ?
Muhamamd Shamim Akhter, 6 December, 2011:
Being an ordinary citizen of Bangladesh , it is obviously a vital issue to us to be worried about whether our political system is perfectly balancing the demand and support of the common people instead of lugging the narrow financial interests of a tiny people. Any system lifts up the part of the interest groups coiling up harmful and detrimental elements of mass people; a suggestion may therefore be passed that the system must be repaired.
When a political system absorbs in such a tendency under any banner it holds, for instance- democracy, it is an autocracy- rule of tyranny of a few over the mass. It is the fate of irony that such a line of trend is perceived clearly in our present political system. With the debating issue of dividing ‘Dhaka City Corporation', began inside the perimeter of both the ruling and opposition party, should not be let that inattentively.Dhaka is our dream city. The people of East Bengal had struggled for establishing a different kind of city adorned by spirituality and blessed with the bounties which Kolkata had not the opportunity to hold. In fact, Kolkata is the issue of colonialism and it was Dhaka where he voiced against the misrule of colonialism. Dhaka was called for the ‘the city of mosques', where there are plenty of mosques, there should be essence of heaven. However, it is the irony of fate that relentless carelessness of the administration has made this significant city into hell.
Nasty and insufficient roads, slums, homelessness, inadequacy of play grounds, parks or open spaces for physical exercise, insufficient and dirty water supply, careless service of conservancy department, load shedding, dying rivers, ruling of pick pockets, grab of the foot-paths, hike of the price of essential goods and culture of widening gap between the rich and poor – are the indispensable features which may be comparable to the scenario of the hell. Though the service of Dhaka city is provided through different organizations, it is the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) that is the main body, responsible to the wellbeing of Dhaka city. In the midst of debate regarding the service of DCC from different forums, the present GOB led by Bangladesh Awami League, hurriedly decided to divide Dhaka city without diagnose of the disease of Dhaka city awkwardly without discussing with the various forums, opposition parties, even political thinkers of its own party.
If such a small city like Dhaka was the last resort to be divided in to two, then it may be asked about the numbers of mayors required to Tokyo , New York , Paris , London , Berlin , Beijing , Singapore , Kuala Lumpur , Dubai , Riyadh , Sydney.Since they have not picked up such a stupid idea, GOB has picked up such a wrong option or unnecessary option that does not match with the experience of the human civilization of the age. Day Light saving, though a practicing in some countries, it is very unnatural in the case of Bangladesh and that unnatural practice was produced and lastly ended making the people foolish.
To provide service of the DCC, there are lots of zonal offices in Dhaka where the officers and employees are present, to ensure the voice of the people a representative of the people under the name of councilors and mayor have been supported. Through zonal offices DCC has the jurisdiction to arrange for planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, budgeting. Moreover, it may take top-bottom or bottom-up decision making procedure. Such problems did not arise before. Problem is that with the command of the apex authority where such functions should go on harmoniously, it is the DCC; such functions are not functioning properly. In the name of cutting Dhaka city is of no sense and if such instance is followed, then the CMM court may be proposed to be divided into many. Because, many innocent people, when arrested, has to brought in the old town CMM court premise passing a huge traffic jam, then should be not propose that CMM court should be divided. In fact, because of the commitment of the GOB and with the infection of corruption and involvement of terror people in the whole process, the service and transparency of DCC have been faced manifold challenges. Without cognizing the fact dividing Dhaka into Khokon or Selim and Molla ors are in fact such a step wholly motivated by politics of the ruling party.The panels chosen in both of parts live in such a place where they have not made such a village where their own car does not enter! If they suffocate to the voice of modernists, is there anything left to the fate of Dhaka other than deprivation. Where does 13 thousand crore taka go every year? What is the head the budget is spent?
In the face of opposition of various forums including the opposition party regarding the failure to meet the aspiration of the people as per the commitment before the election, when changes in the pattern of political, administrative and economical system of Bangladesh are demanded and elimination of corruption was demnaded, in such a moment, we should extend our proposal to pick up the option of increasing the number of Prime Minister and President of Bangladesh. Year back, Julia Gillard, the newly elected Prime Minister of Australia, declared that her country would concentrate to 2 crore people and shall not take any other measure so that the number of the population of the country would not increase. Besides, in terms of population of other developed countries, the number of PM and President of Bangladesh might be increased.
Considering 2 crore people as the base for single Prime Minister as per the concept of Julia Gillard of Australia, we need 8 Prime Minster (16 crore/2 Crore) and if possible the number of President may be increased up to 8 too, Discussing with people of Bangladesh under state of informality, I have come to know that dynamism in governing the country seems unpleasant to them since Present President of Bangladesh has seen physically ill and upset to look after such a vast responsibility of the country. Even present Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has to run the offices of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The last two ministries are run without formal presence of their respective, which some claims that this is the reason to be jolted in the sectors.
In such argument and counter-argument, it may be demanded for the increase of the numbers of the Ministers and particularly the numbers of PM and President. I do not know whether the intellectual and advisers of the present government may pick up my proposal, I am hopeful that it will be a policy identical to the policy taken in the case of Dhaka City Corporation. Many argue that Dhaka City Corporation should be termed as ‘Dhaka City Corruption'. In support of the claim of being inflicted by corruption and hollow the body of DCC, many paper cuttings, public opinions and inter-departmental and external inquiry reports may be produced. Without curing of the basic infection and mending thereof, any attempt to divide Dhaka City Corporation implies different objective which is quite obscure to us at this moment and need time to discover. However, at this moment it may be guaranteed that the future of Dhaka is dim.
