Financial allocation for the elimination of mosquitoes for the two city corporations in Dhaka has been doubled to Tk 1 billion but the manpower has not been increased. Both corporations claim that the available manpower is inadequate. Urban specialists contend that without proper manpower, the authorities will face an uphill task in utilising the mammoth budget.
The area under the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) now stands at 270km with 129 wards. There are 734 officials and workers for the both corporations. Of them, 709 are engaged in the anti-mosquito operation.
DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam says that compared to Kolkata, the manpower is 12 percent lower in Dhaka.
Mayor Atiqul adds: “To kill mosquitoes, we have 295 persons. The figure includes one chief health official, 4 regional health officials, one coordinator (health) and 9 health inspectors. There are 280 field level workers which means 4-5 persons per ward.”
To meet the Dengue crisis, local government ministry employed some people on a daily wage basis though there are complaints that these workers are not experienced.
Meanwhile, The DSCC has 439 persons including one chief health official, 4 regional health officials and 5 inspectors.
In Kolkata, which has 11 million people, the city corporation has 4,319 workers while in Dhaka, which has 30 million people, there are only 734.
Every ward must have at least 20 people to eliminate mosquitoes, say urban specialists.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners’ (BIP) Dr Adil Muhamamd Khan says: “The manpower of city corporations need to be increased; all areas must be brought under monitoring.”
A scientific strategy has to be adopted to kill mosquitoes, he feels.
Mayor Sayeed Khokon of DSCC, said: “The manpower available is not enough but we are taking people through outsourcing.”
Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Tajul Islam, commented: “We have sent the proposals given by the two city corporations to the ministry of public administration.”
However, officials of the department of public administration could not be contacted.