Independent candidate for the Dhaka-9 constituency Tasnim Jara on Saturday pledged to establish world-class education and healthcare services and to work toward resolving key civic problems, including gas shortages, if elected.
Tasnim Jara made the remarks while attending a manifesto-reading programme organised by the Assistant Returning Officer’s office at Khilgaon Model College in the capital.
Earlier in the day, she conducted election campaigning in the Dasherkandi Bazar area before formally presenting her manifesto at the event.
Outlining her priorities, Tasnim Jara said every school in Dhaka-9 would be equipped with modern laboratories and libraries to improve the quality of education.
To strengthen healthcare services, she pledged to recruit adequate manpower at Mugda Medical College Hospital and enhance the capacity of community clinics.
Addressing the issue of drug abuse, she said initiatives would be taken to curb narcotics in the constituency, with strict action against drug traffickers and support and rehabilitation for drug users.
Before reading out the manifesto, Tasnim Jara criticised what she described as discriminatory treatment toward Dhaka-9. “We pay the same taxes and utility bills as areas like Gulshan and Banani, but we receive inferior services,” she said.
“Leaders appear during elections, take votes and then disappear. The state treats us only as a source of revenue.”
Emphasising that she is not a professional politician, Tasnim Jara said she is a resident of the area and vowed to end years of neglect. “Dhaka-9’s days of deprivation are over. We pay equal taxes and deserve equal rights,” she said.
She later outlined six key problems facing the constituency and proposed solutions in her manifesto.
She had earlier published the manifesto on her verified Facebook page on 24 January.
