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Dhaka Day by Day

Thanks to Surat for One Thing

by Lamis Hossain
Why criticize Surat when we have a garbage problem festering In our own backyards? Rubbish strewn on the city streets and containers spilling over with chicken Innards, vegetable peels, chewed bones, egg shells, plastic bags make our city a prime breeding ground for disease
We may be quick to condemn the Dhaka City Corporation for the mess, but ft. in turn, blames us. Well, some of us at least, the DCC's Public Relations Officer claims, "The problem is due to garbage disposal at the wrong time and the wrong place. We take the refuse away but the public keep throwing it. whenever and wherever they please". The authorities believe that they fulfil their side of the bargain by clearing garbage everyday, in two shifts : 6am-2pm for most of the city, and after 6pm for Motljheel and Old Dhaka, according to the normal timetable.
teru . loosely translated as stiff-necked, is his explanation for the public problem. People know that the city should be kept clean, but Dhakaites stubbornly adhere to their old habits. "Ask any street hawker if he knows when .arid where he should dispose of his garbage, and he will reply. Yes ." the PR officer explains. But ask him whether he follows it and you'll get a shrug and an excuse". Draconian laws like Singapore may be the only solution for us.
Inborn national obstinacy could be partly at fault, but the publicity efforts of the DCC have not been impressive either. There are no TV ads on keeping the country clean akin to. say. the 'plant a tree’ campaign. "Do you know how expensive TV ads are?" The PR official retorts.
A 60 seconds spot costs Tk 28.000. Important .civic messages should be given free
There is some truth to their allegations that Dhaka inhabitants lack civic sense. In developed countries, such as Japan and England, the environmental message is so effective that you feel ashamed to throw anything outside the provided bins. How can you pollute Her Majesty's homeland, when there are ’’Keep Britain Tidy'' signs staring at you everywhere? ■ The occasional littering is done very surreptitiously — by pretending that the rubbish has accidentally escaped your hands. You then have to live with the guilt.
In Dhaka, people litter openly and freely, with a clean conscience. Car windows are rolled down to spit out betel leaves or to discard banana peels, used tissues and candy wrappers. Our streets are treated like national garbage bins.
Al home. we entrust servants with the disposal of household waste, which they offload in front of someone else's house or anywhere other than the designated location. Others Joi-low sulf and soon, a clean area becomes an unofficial dumping ground. Home owners need to appreciate the value of a hygienic wiviron ment themselves, before they can teach their servants.
Residential areas have also been turned into farms Stray dogs and chickens rummage through trash containers and spread the detri tus. while empty plots are used to rear cows which defecate along the streets
Yet. surely the public s behaviour indicates the DCC's failure to instil awareness among the people? "Public awareness is lacking, but we have tried and we are continuing our efforts' ^the Public Relations Officer replie "Gharer roq
air-time by the government.
Funding is a sore Issue. The DCC officials claim that government cooperation is lacking. We need" more financial assistance and subsidy to modernize Dhaka. Even following the plague scare, there has been no assurances to increase long-term, funds. The World Bank is currently financing the purchase of containers and trucks. A 12 per cent tax is also levied from home owners, two per cent of which goes towards conservancy. The World Bank has suggested that two per cent is too low' , the DCC official informs. “But there are no plans to increase the tax as it will be difficult to persuade the already reluctant home owners"
If a trash truck is spotted In the city. It Is usually carrying the ghastly load at the worst possible time. The smell of waste putrefying under the hot midday sun reaches your nose while you are stuck tn a traffic jam.
The Corporation officials admit that they have failed to motivate the public to a certain extent. They acknowledge that DCC is not immune from the general slackness prevalent in Bangladesh, but the plague scare has propelled them into action An emergency meeting with the Anti-Plague Committee decided, among other things, to clear all garbage by 5pm everyday. This, however. Is part of an emergency measure and not a long term plan. Future proposals include implementing existing penalties of imprisonment and fines.
We can only wait and see whether the fear of plague will lead to permanent Improvements In DCC policies and fundamental changes in public , attitude. If so, we can thank Surat for one thing at least .