C T Online Desk: Chattogram City Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury stated several reasons for the city’s traffic congestion, including business by occupying the sidewalks, uncontrolled hawker business, illegal parking, and said that Friday market i.e. hawkers can be allowed to do business on Friday and Saturday two days a week to alleviate the traffic congestion. The mayor said these things at the 24th general meeting of the elected sixth council of Chittagong City Corporation on Sunday.
He said, pay-parking i.e. parking in exchange of fee will be introduced at certain places. We will close shops in passenger camps and stop encroachment of footpaths to stop passenger boarding.
Regarding the waterlogging, the Mayor said that to reduce the waterlogging, the soil and dirt deposited in the canals and drains etc. should be cleaned during the summer, including digging from the Baripara canal to the Karnaphuli river. However, the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) is running a project to reduce flooding, and people in many areas of the city are suffering because the drains and canals along with the retaining walls have been filled up. I have repeatedly told the CDA’s higher authorities including the CDA Chairman to arrange monsoon water movement in this project. The councilors will inform me in the form of a report about the situation of the canals within the next 10 days.
He said that diversity is being prioritized in the design of roads and flyovers to make the city an aesthetic city. Even though the placement of billboards is under control in the city, the beauty is being spoiled due to the posters. Actions have been taken to allocate specific spaces for posters to control chaos. Any unauthorized billboards will also be removed. In addition to increasing the illumination of the city, this year’s Ekushey Book Fair is being organized in a bigger and more elaborate manner to boost the cultural activities.
