Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Atiqul Islam has said no one will be allowed to do business, development work and construction through polluting the environment. He also said, drives conducted to control pollution in Dhaka, will become stricter after December 20. He made the remarks at a roundtable styled ‘Unplanned pollution in Dhaka: Citizens reflect’ at the National Press Club in the capital on Tuesday.
The Mayor said, “We have submitted an application to the government seeking more magistrates to conduct drives against those who put construction materials on roads. “Although drives against those who contribute to pollution in Bangladesh are ongoing, they will become stricter after December 20 when we get more Magistrates.”
He said, “Contractors as well as city corporations and other organizations have to keep themselves environmentally compliant in Dhaka. If you (contractors) cannot abide by that, our magistrates will take action.” Mayor Atiqul also warned businessmen who deal with plastic bottles and chips, saying: “You [businessmen] will either have to change your mode of conducting business, or find an alternate way to dispose of or recycle plastic bottles.”
He further said, citizens are the ones who suffer from waterlogging due to amassing plastic bottles in the streets, which should not happen. It is the responsibility of the producers to ensure that plastic bottles do not end up on the streets, causing harm to the environment, Atiqul added. Adilur Rahman Khan, General Secretary of the Institute of Planners presented the keynote paper at the roundtable.
He said, “There is a lot in the plan of Dhaka but there is no implementation. Social Impact Assessment needs to be developed. The Mayor has to take effective steps against this pollution.” Public Health Specialist Dr Lalin Chowdhury said, “One of the major causes of air pollution in Dhaka is the brick kilns around Dhaka. Secondly, black smoke from the vehicles. There are some factories in Dhaka too. Every year 2 lakh people suffer from heart disease.”
“The city corporation needs to intervene in various development projects to prevent air pollution," said Abu Naser Khan, chairman of the Save the Environment Movement (POBA), while adding, City Corporations must address the situation strictly. Architect Iqbal Habib said, “Unorganized work must be stopped. The government must take into consideration the public suffering while implementing different development work.”
