Bangladesh Nationalist Party backed mayoral hopeful for Dhaka north city corporation Tabith Awal on Thursday pledged to introduce a number modern day innovations in city management in his 83-point programme on 12 sectors.
‘I want to engage myself in the effort to end the plights of city dwellers. Through making a humble pledge to work tirelessly to solve the problems of city dwellers, I am asking for your cordial support and cooperation in the mayoral race,’ said Tabith before declaring his election manifesto at his central election office at Regnum Tower at Tejgaon-Gulshan link road.
While unveiling the manifesto, Tabith was flanked by BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed and Adarsha Dhaka Andolan convener and former Dhaka University vice-chancellor Emajuddin Ahmed.
Emajuddin said Tabith had shed light on all the problems city dwellers were facing for long. ‘And I believe he will try hard to materialise his promises once he is elected mayor.’
Branding Tabith an ‘honest’ and talented young man, Moudud said Tabith would try to build an ideal Dhaka, making the city corporation free from corruption and irregularities.
The BNP leader hoped that a silent revolution would take place in the election on April 28. ‘And his victory will expedite the ongoing movement for re-establishing democracy in the country.’
His manifesto included promises to take measures to re-arrange food supply mechanism to the capital, ensure adulteration-free food, abundant water supply, free the holding taxation system from corruption, ensure housing for low-income groups, control air, sound and environment pollution, ensure free medical services for the poor and make basic medical services available.
He said he has a plan to introduce ‘urban agriculture system’ in the way it was introduced in Japan.
Elaborating on his programme to ensure education for all, Tabith said he would introduce city scholarship for talented students and would set up at least one day-care centre at every ward in the city.
He chalked out elaborate programmes as to how he would bring an end to nagging traffic congestion in the capital and pledged to introduce sky-walk system for pedestrians, like those in Mumbai.
He also said he would introduce 3R (Reduce, Refuse, Reuse) concept in waste management of the capital.
He promised to ensure access to all to information of all affairs of the city corporation with a view to establishing good governance and curbing graft and irregularities.
He also said he would digitalise all the affairs of the city corporation to the end.
Asked how he would be able to materialise his pledges as the city corporation mayor does not have the jurisdiction to deal with all the affairs mentioned, the mayoral hopeful said he would work with the people, as well as with the other respective service providing agencies, through coordination, to solve the city problems.
Asked what he would do if he faced hostility from the government, in the way other city mayors are facing for being members of opposition party, the BNP backed mayoral candidate said the people would elect him with such a huge margin on April 28 that the government would feel compelled to come forward to solve the civic problems.
In reply to a question, Tabith said he would carry out advocacy for introducing city governance system in Dhaka for better management of the city problems.
In his written manifesto, Tabith was critical of bifurcation of the capital city and of delaying the holding of the civic polls in Dhaka.
Source: New Age
