Ctg mayor blames mosquito menace on waterlogging project work
Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury on Wednesday blamed the uncontrolled mosquito menace on a project underway to resolve waterlogging problems in the port city.
"Dams have been constructed in canals for the waterlogging removal project. Due to this, the flow of water has been stopped. It has created a lot of mosquito breeding sites," he said
"I have visited Ward No 39 and saw that there was dirty water and garbage in a canal. Even mosquito control pesticides do not work there. Mosquito menace cannot be controlled unless the water flow is normal," he added.
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The mayor was speaking at a press conference at the Nagar Bhaban in the port city to mark his first anniversary as the mayor of the corporation. CCC panel Mayor Abdus Sabur and Secretary Khaled Mahmood were also present.
Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, ruling Awami League's joint general secretary for the Chattogram city, who won the election in January 2021 and took charge as the mayor the following month, highlighted his first year's performance.
"When I took the charge, the corporation had a debt of about Tk1,000 crore and it was riddled with various problems. We are working to solve the problems through short- and long-term plans," he said.
In the last year, he said, the corporation has received approval for a big project of Tk2,500 crore.
About solving the waterlogging problems, the mayor said soil should be removed from canals by April this year. Otherwise, there will be more waterlogging this year.
"We have informed the ministry. We are monitoring everything. I'm in contact with project directors personally," he added.
No matter how influential the occupiers of the canals are, there will be no concessions in their eviction, the mayor warned.
"I will not back down on this. I have also told the traffic department about the occupation of sidewalks. Our responsibility is to repair roads and sidewalks. Evicting occupiers is the responsibility of the traffic department. They can ask police stations concerned for monitoring this," he added.
