CCC mayor completes second year amid unfulfilled expectations
Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) Mayor M Manjur Alam completes the second year of his five-year office term today, still struggling to address his major election commitments. The 56 points of his election manifesto included steps to address traffic jams, garbage management and footpath encroachment. Solving the perennial waterlogging problem topped the list. But, as if a reminder of his failure, major areas went under waist-deep water on June 26 and July 15 almost paralysing two-thirds of the port city. The areas include Chawk Bazar, Bakalia, Kapashgola, Bahaddarhat, CDA Avenue, Halishahar, Badurtala, Patenga, Muradpur, Sholashahar, Mohammadpur, Agrabad, Chandgaon and Nasirabad. CCC officials said they excavated 144 kilometres of 17 canals criss-crossing the city. But city planners said new canals must also be dug to avoid waterlogging. One city planner, Engineer Ali Asraf, said Chittagong Development Authority's (CDA) Drainage Master Plan of 1995 recommended digging up of at least three canals, but not a single one had been created. If the mayor had been more active, the three bridges over Chaktai Canal would have been constructed on time and waterlogging in the area could have been avoided, he added. Mayor Manjur said the proposal to dig a canal at Bahaddarhat area, that would reduce waterlogging in the city to a great extent, at a cost of Tk 296 crore was awaiting government approval. Blaming siltation for the recent waterlogging, he said implementing the Drainage Master Plan would completely remove the city's waterlogging problem. Meanwhile, the mayor's commitment to relieve city dwellers of traffic jam with the construction of bypasses, parking lots and wider footpaths and introduction of a modernised bus service remains unimplemented. On waste management, a resident of Aturer Depot, Rashidun Nabi, had only sore tales to tell. “If anyone goes to areas like Reazuddin Bazar, Kazir Dewri, Agrabad, Aturer Depot or any other parts of the city at any time, he will see mountains of waste lying on the roadside,” he said, adding that there was no fixed schedule to remove the waste. Moreover, CCC showed no progress in evicting illegal establishments on footpaths, mainly in New Market, Agrabad and CEPZ areas, forcing pedestrians onto the streets, he added. City planners put the blame on the mayor's lack of planning and implementing capacity and failure to collect funds from the government and donor agencies for development works. URBAN HEALTH SERVICE'S DISMAL CONDITION Three months' salary of some 500 staff of Asian Development Bank-funded Urban Health Service programme of CCC has been due, caused by delays by CCC to renew the contract with ADB. The contract expired in March and CCC signed the renewal this month, extending the programme till December, said sources. When contacted about the issue, the mayor asked to talk to the CCC health officer, Dr Mohammad Ali, who said the delay was due to “official formalities” and the dues would be duly paid. EDUCATION QUALITY FALLS Students and guardians of schools under CCC complained that the education standard was falling as the authorities concerned were failing to run the institutions properly. CCC officials said only four schools had 100 percent pass rate in this year's Secondary School Certificate exam while last year it was 16. CCC Chief Education Officer Md Nurul Alam Nizami said the fall was due to poor pre-test marks and that the SSC exam's questions were not “easy”. On this issue, the mayor said he had built three colleges and one school and enabled double shifts in four schools. Former mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury refused to remark on Manjur's successes, saying, “If Mayor Manjur asks me for help, I am ready to extend it.”
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