Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mian on Tuesday arrived at CJKS Shopping Complex carrying flowers and crests for traders who had helped clear an estimated 200 to 250 lorryloads of waste accumulated there over more than a decade.
“The district administration does not only receive flowers; it gives flowers too,” said Zahid, who is also president of the CJKS.
Located beside the MA Aziz Stadium in Kazir Dewri, the shopping complex had been blighted by household and construction waste for 12 to 13 years. The dump obstructed movement and posed health and fire hazards. Zahid said some discarded materials were flammable and a fire could have put both the complex and the adjacent stadium at risk.
The issue was discussed at a CJKS ad hoc committee meeting on 28 September. Responding to the administration’s call, shop owners and the traders’ association began clearing the site. Within days, the waste was removed.
Shop owners’ association General Secretary Kamal Hossain said, “I never imagined the DC himself would come and thank us with flowers. His recognition has encouraged us.”
Association President Muklesur Rahman said the traders had undertaken the cleanup without expecting anything in return. “We did it for the public good. The recognition from the DC is a great reward for us,” he said.
CJKS Member Secretary Mohammad Salauddin said, “Normally, officials are welcomed with flowers. This time, the DC came to present flowers to those who did the work. I have never seen anything like this before.”
The district administration has been carrying out cleanliness and beautification drives across Chattogram under the slogan “Clean our towns and villages, build an aesthetic Chattogram.”
The campaign was intensified amid the dengue outbreak. Cleanliness drives were carried out at around 2,000 mosques, with special programmes in Sitakunda, identified as a dengue hotspot, and later in Karnaphuli.
Zahid said administrative directives alone could not transform a city and that citizens also needed to take responsibility. “The flowers may be a small gesture, but my respect for them is much greater. I came here to express that respect.”
The administration plans to turn the cleared site into a garden with seating and drinking water facilities. CCTV cameras will be installed to prevent illegal dumping. Anyone found dumping waste will be identified from footage and face legal action, Zahid said.
