Dhaka South City Corporation’s newly appointed Administrator Abdus Salam took formal charge in the capital on Tuesday, pledging to prioritise service delivery to earn the trust of city residents.
The government named Salam full-time Administrator of DSCC on 22 February under the Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Ordinance 2024, giving him the powers and duties of the mayor until further order.
On Tuesday morning he submitted his joining letter to Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, and later met Prime Minister Tareque Rahman. The prime minister gave specific directives on city cleanliness, mosquito control and transforming Dhaka into a “green city”, and instructed him to prepare an action plan. Salam also held a courtesy meeting with Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed to discuss enhancing law and order and cooperation.
At 2pm he visited Sher-e-Bangla Nagar to place floral wreaths at the graves of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia. On returning to Nagar Bhaban in the afternoon, DSCC Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and other senior officials greeted him with flowers.
Addressing staff, Salam said he aimed to work with citizens to address Dhaka’s challenges and emphasised that public participation and awareness were essential to build a clean, mosquito-free and liveable city. He said he would work through citizens’ needs and complaints, and escalate issues beyond the corporation’s jurisdiction to the prime minister.
Salam urged officials and employees at all levels to perform their duties with honesty and dedication to make DSCC a citizen-friendly and accountable institution.
