Gas supply first priority
Rangpur city's first mayor tells
Sharfuddin Ahmed Jhantu
Md Sharfuddin Ahmed Jhantu, first mayor of Rangpur City Corporation, said his first priority would be to provide gas supply in Rangpur for the establishment of industries and creation of jobs. “Rangpur is widely known as a very backward place mainly because it has been neglected for long. Due to unavailability of gas, industries could not be established here,†he told The Daily Star on December 31 last year. Sitting in his new office in Rangpur city, he said, “Gas connection must be provided in Rangpur in my tenure otherwise people would be mobilised to launch a greater movement over the demand.†Turned into a city corporation from a municipality in July 2012, Rangpur City Corporation had its first polls on December 20, 2012. The city corporation is the second largest, with respect to area, among those in the country with 203 square kilometres. Moreover, 9 unions of the sadar upazila have been included in the city corporation. “I shall continue to build Rangpur as a model city and I also want to establish Rangpur as a corruption free metropolis. There is nothing more valuable than the love and honour people showered me with in several elections.†He said he was elected Rangpur sadar upazila chairman in 1990, won the mayoral polls of Rangpur municipality in 1993 and was elected lawmaker from Rangpur-1 constituency in 1996. “Now, it is my turn to give back my debt to the people by providing civic facilities.†Many RCC residents feel that Jhantu has a tough job ahead in developing better facilities such as communications, electricity, drainage and sanitation. He said local governments have little opportunity to develop infrastructure with the low resources they have. “But with experience, devotion and good intention we will overcome the problems.†“Firstly we need to increase internal resources from taxes. Secondly, we will seek financial assistance from donors to create a modern- and environment-friendly city,†Jhantu said. However, he said increasing taxes would be hard as his election pledge was not to increase rate of taxation. Many Awami League leaders of Rangpur claimed that Jhantu, the party's district unit advisory member, has been inactive for the last 12 years and rarely kept contact with them. Jhantu said despite being an Awami League leader, he was the mayor of Rangpur's residents and his role as the mayor would be nonpartisan.
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