Allocation cut frustrates Chittagong mayor
Chittagong city Mayor M Manjur Alam yesterday expressed his frustration that the government has almost halved the allocation to Tk 8 crore for the city corporation this fiscal year.
Last year the allocation was Tk 17 crore, he said and described the amount as too little for a city like Chittagong, which is home to some 50 lakh people.
The mayor was speaking at a roundtable on the development of Chittagong, organised by Mukto Akash, a periodical, at the Institute of Engineers of Bangladesh (IEB), Chittagong.
Manjur Alam said it has been 15 years since Chittagong adopted a drainage master plan. Still unimplemented, it caused immense suffering to the city dwellers during the monsoon, he said.
The mayor said that to overcome the problem, Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) is thinking to install a sewer from Bahadderhat to the Karnaphuli River at a cost of Tk.297 crore.
Manjr Alam also blamed Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) for not informing the city corporation of the projects or planning, which are hampering the city's development.
Referring to manpower shortage, CDA Chairman Abdus Salam said that with the present staff of CDA, it is possible to implement five projects while it has been dealing with 22 projects.
Engineer and city planner Ali Asraf and Chowdhury Fazle Bari presented two keynote papers at the roundtable chaired by Prof Dr Golam Rahman, president, Bangladesh Institute of Planners.
Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (Cuet) vice-chancellor Prof Dr Shaymol Kanti Biswas, East Delta University VC Prof Dr Sikander Khan, and IEB Chittagong president Md Harun were present at the programme, among others.
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