Stop mafia circle surrounding garbage trade

Political leaders are finding "honey" in garbage. That a mafia circle can grow around garbage trade is only possible in Bangladesh. During the previous Awami League regime, Awami League leaders enjoyed the "honey" from garbage, and now BNP leaders are taking their share. According to media reports published on Monday (July 14), BNP leaders will pocket Tk 418 crore from the garbage trade.

According to available information, in the last fiscal year, Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) collected Tk 131 crore in cleanliness fees for household waste collection. They spent about Tk 100 crore in this sector. They also have a workforce of around 4,000. Among them, 2,000 personnel were recruited at once to collect waste directly from homes. Now this task is being handed over to private companies. In return, they will collect a fixed amount of money from city residents. This work is being allocated to BNP leaders, activists, and supporters. Already, 19 wards have been handed over to them. Estimates suggest these organisations will trade Tk 418 crore annually in this sector.

Immediately after the mass uprising, BNP leaders seized all authority over the garbage trade. According to news published in the media on 31 August 2024, the “garbage honey” in Gulshan-Banani has now changed hands to BNP. Earlier, Awami League local leaders used to earn at least Tk 3 crore monthly from Gulshan-Banani by controlling the garbage trade. During the Awami League government's term, a ring was formed in every ward of the capital under the guise of collecting household and restaurant waste to loot money. This ring included Awami League leaders and activists from various levels. The most money from waste collection or garbage trade came from Ward 19 of Dhaka North City, which includes the elite areas of Gulshan and Banani. Just one week after the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August, control of the garbage trade in Gulshan and Banani changed hands. Now, local BNP leaders have taken control of the garbage trade in place of Awami League leaders.

The question is, household waste collection is the responsibility of the city corporation, so why is this task being given to private companies? Firstly, this process is illegal, and secondly, these private companies are inexperienced in waste removal. As a result, the public is suffering in two ways. Firstly, household garbage is not being removed promptly, and secondly, people are paying twice for the same waste disposal.

On-the-ground investigations in Dhaka, Chattogram, and other cities reveal that sanitation workers are collecting waste from homes and piling it up at street corners or dumping it into nearby canals or ponds, polluting the environment. The city corporation's garbage trucks may come once or twice a month to collect some of the accumulated waste, but most of it remains piled up in canals, ponds, or open spaces for days or even months. In other words, residential areas are turning into garbage dumps.

City dwellers cannot even complain to anyone about this, because the ruling political leaders are so powerful that nothing can be said against them. But now BNP is not in power. Then why has their dominance grown so much? Since the mass uprising, the behaviour of some BNP leaders suggests they have seized all authority. This is not only evident in their control over the garbage trade but also in many of their other activities. Senior leaders of BNP themselves are annoyed by this. But why can't BNP control its own members? And why can’t the government control them either? If such a mafia circle emerges around garbage trade too, then there’s nothing more to say about the country’s condition. We want the government to immediately stop such illegal activities.