Clean Dhaka

Dhaka is listed among the worst cities of the world in terms of quality of living according to the annual ranking of consulting firm Mercer as Bangladesh keeps last year's poor rank. It ranks 214th among 231 global cities with Vienna topping the list and Baghdad sitting at the bottom. Coupled with the matter of poor waste management by the Dhaka City Council, makes it even more problematic and unsafe for those living in it as frequent fevers, diarrhea and other illness plague the citizens all throughout the year. JWF relies on a diverse set of methodologies and participatory processes to gather, analyze and disseminate data to assess current deficiencies in the areas lacking proper government supervision, highlight problems and needs and inform priorities, including undertaking comparative research studies and convening workshops and conferences. Through our efforts we believe that we would be able to improve the living conditions of Dhaka as a clean and safe city for all. JWF has had already done a public interest litigation in rectifying the City Corporation’s mismanagement in garbage collection & disposal. On 15.10.17 the Foundation filed a Public Interest Litigation (being writ petition no. 14414 of 2017) regarding issue of Dhaka City Corporation’s Garbage Trucks transportation Policies, where the court issued rule against the Respondents by an Order dated 16.10.17. The Garbage trucks and vans that were being used to collect garbage had been previously doing so outside the scheduled time set for them and not covering the garbage while doing so, as per required by the authorities. Contamination in the atmosphere caused by the discharge, accidental or deliberates of a wide range of toxic substances. Often the amount of the released substance is relatively high in a certain locality such as large cities as Dhaka, so the harmful effects are more noticeable. The garbage usually fell off while trucks & vans drove around the city, during the busy hours of the morning, haphazardly and foul odor was spread increasing the likelihood of air-borne diseases amongst school children & office workers. The judgment as Stated by the Court directed the Dhaka City Corporation to properly transport the garbage in covered trucks or vans, whatever may be used, within the designated time in order to protect the health of its citizens and keeping the city clean. However, the blame does not only lie with the City Corporation’s, management skills in garbage disposal. Rather every day people throw tons of garbage here and there littering our own city. As a result, the environment gets severely polluted and it affects our health. Citizens must change their attitude and stop throwing garbage indiscriminately. At the same time, the City Corporation should also maintain its duties to keep the city clean. We urge our mayors to take effective steps to solve this problem. We deserve a healthy city to live in. We aim to increase the awareness on such matters to the general public and we hope that people would respond to this noble call of their own volition.