BNP threatens to call hartal

DHAKA: Opposition BNP envisages calling hartal if Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is divided, as the government has already placed a bill in parliament for bifurcating the capital city.

Party sources told banglanews that BNP along with like-minded parties would announce tough movement programs, including hartal, against the government move for dividing DCC.

Final decision about hartal will be taken after party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s return form Khulna road march, the sources added.

In this matter of the latest incendiary issue, BNP standing committee member Lt-General (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman told Banglanews that the people would never support the government move to split DCC.

The former army chief also said, "Any ill motive to split DCC would be faced strongly."

He added: “DCC will be united again in the next BNP tenure, even if the government implements its decision ignoring our protest.”

State Minister for LGRD Jahangir Kabir Nanok tabled a bill seeking to divide DCC into Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation in Parliament earlier on November 23 and it is expected to be passed on November 28.  

As per the decision, two separate city corporations will be formed dividing the 530-square-kilometer city. The northern corporation will comprise 36 wards while 56 wards will form the southern one.

Already, DCC councilors have united against the split. The longest-serving Mayor of Dhaka City Corporation, Sadek Hossain Khoka, at an emergency press conference Saturday declared that he would voluntarily stand down from his mayoral seat forever as soon as the schedule for next election would be announced, in order to avert bifurcation of the 400-year-old capital city.

Khoka has ruled Bangladesh’s capital for nearly two tenures for delays in holding the overdue DCC polls.

Dhaka Municipal Corporation was set up in 1864 and later it became Dhaka City Corporation in 1990.

BDST: 1033 HRS, NOV 27, 2011