To establish easy communication between Aftabnagar and Rampura Banasree areas of the capital, Mohammad Ejaz, administrator of the Dhaka North City Corporation, has inaugurated the construction of three bridges over the Narai River (Rampura Canal).
At the inauguration ceremony held Monday morning at Aftabnagar Lakeview Road, the DNCC administrator attended as the chief guest and laid the foundation stones for the three bridges to be constructed.
Once the construction of the three bridges is completed, two bridges will be opened for vehicular traffic, and the other bridge will be used for pedestrian crossing. The bridges will be constructed with technical assistance from the Bangladesh Navy.
In his speech as the chief guest at the foundation stone laying ceremony, DNCC Administrator Mohammad Ejaz said, “In response to the long-standing demand of the general public in Aftabnagar and Banasree areas, we have decided to construct bridges over the Narai River.”
He added, “Vehicular pressure in the Aftabnagar area will increase in the future. These bridges are being built to handle that pressure. At the same time, this bridge construction initiative has been taken to alleviate traffic congestion in Rampura via Pragati Sarani and reduce public inconvenience during the ongoing metro rail project work.”
The administrator further stated, “The infrastructural development works we are undertaking are not favours to the citizens; rather, they are their rights. It is our responsibility to realise these rights. We are continuing our work through public hearings to quickly resolve citizen issues, although the absence of councilors is putting extra pressure on us to provide services.”
Encouraging city dwellers to pay holding taxes regularly, the administrator said, “If holding taxes are paid properly, we will be able to resolve citizen issues more quickly and effectively.”
Pointing out that the activities of housing societies are creating obstacles to planned urbanisation, the administrator said, “A major crisis in Dhaka is that we do not maintain minimum standards in the housing sector. As a result, urbanisation is taking place unplanned. To address this issue, we are preparing Local Area Action Plans to ensure playgrounds, public spaces, and other civic amenities in future Dhaka.”
Emphasising the role of the private sector in urban development, he said, “The city has primarily developed due to the rise of the private sector. Therefore, they must also play a role in maintaining the city’s fairness.”
Present as special guests at the event were DNCC Chief Executive Officer Md Mamunul Hasan, Chief Engineer Brigadier General Md Moin Uddin, Chief Health Officer Brigadier General Emrul Kayes Chowdhury, Additional Police Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Md Sarwar, and Managing Director of Dockyard and Engineering Works Limited Commodore Jahangir Adil Samdani.
Additionally, divisional heads of Dhaka North City Corporation, regional executive officers, and a large number of general public from Banasree and Aftabnagar were present at the event.
