Jam-free clean Dhaka
We do not need to get advice from the PhDs to solve our daily traffic problems. What we need is simply some good intentions and sincerity. The initiatives may be summed up as below:
1. Remove the filth from both sides of the road. Massive clean-up campaign is required. This will free 25 to 30% usable space.
2. Carpet/repair the roads/streets, not done in the last 6-7 years.
3. Footpaths are to be re-done where needed.
4. New law should be made to forbid obstructions or piling up of construction materials, garbage, etc. on the footpath.
5. It will be the onus of the building owners to ensure the environment is clean around the buildings. A fine can be imposed on the owners if they do not follow the rules.
6. No new vehicle is to be registered for two months to see the impact and have a control over the volume, etc.
7. Let the proposed new buses be strict with the number of passengers to ply with. They must be touching only designated stoppages.
8. More (5,000 may be) new garbage bins are required with workable schedule of professionally emptying them.
9. Work out a programme of taking away small industries and garment factories, gradually and in phases, from the city to the outskirts.
10. Let a small tax be imposed on the affluent property owners for the up- keep of the city.
All these or even some of these could make a big difference to make life relatively easy, if the authorities demonstrate responsibility. It is a shame to see that many a times The Daily Star has tried to highlight the plight of Dhaka streets with pathetic pictures and stories, yet there is no initiative to address them!
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