Around 2,000 mosques across Chattogram district will join a simultaneous clean-up drive on Saturday, 13 September, as part of efforts to prevent dengue, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mian announced on Monday.
The drive, covering mosques and their premises, will begin at 9:30am, he said at a workshop on dengue prevention and the role of religious leaders at the Chattogram Circuit House.
The Chattogram divisional office of the Islamic Foundation and Unicef organised the workshop with support from the district administration. Islamic Foundation Director General Muhammad Muhibbullahil Baki Nadvi attended as chief guest, while Imam Training Academy Director Sarker Sarwar Alam was special guest.
Describing dengue as a potentially fatal disease, Zahidul said keeping homes and public spaces clean was crucial to preventing its spread. He said the district administration has been carrying out clean-up drives across Chattogram every Saturday since 25 July, targeting government offices, rooftops, ponds, water bodies and other potential mosquito-breeding sites.
“Saturday’s initiative is not only about preventing dengue; it is also part of a social movement to build a cleaner Chattogram,” he said. “Cleanliness is not the responsibility of the administration alone. It is the responsibility of every citizen.” Zahidul said religious leaders could play an important role in raising public awareness because of their influence in local communities. He called on imams and khatibs to use sermons to raise awareness about cleanliness, dengue prevention, drug abuse, usury, bribery and corruption.
Officials of the Islamic Foundation and Imam Training Academy, Unicef representatives, and imams, khatibs, Islamic scholars and other religious leaders from across Chattogram division attended the workshop.
