Bloomberg to fund Dhaka road safety research: Mayor Atiqul

Bloomberg, a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in New York City, will provide the financial support required for research on road safety for preparing a road safety master plan in Dhaka city.

An agreement has been signed in this regard, said Dhaka North Mayor Atiqul Islam at a press briefing on C40 Cities Conference and Bloomberg Award-2022 at Nagar Bhaban Auditorium in the city's Gulshan on Saturday.

The mayor dedicated the award to the people of the city and said that receiving the award has increased the responsibilities of Dhaka North.

The mayor said Bloomberg Philanthropies expressed interest in working on traffic congestion and road safety in Dhaka city.

"Dhaka city does not have the necessary playground, park, or open space for its huge population. We are sincerely trying to build playgrounds and parks to save the city," said the mayor.

"We are working with different cities of the world to exchange knowledge and experience. We have three proposals for cooperation in the international arena: allocating 50% of the funds given for climate refugees to cities, creating green jobs and arranging low-cost housing for climate refugees," he added.

Pointing out that the whole world is under threat due to the effects of climate change, the mayor said the temperature is constantly increasing. The whole world is under threat. As the North Pole's ice melts, sea levels rise and saltwater spreads everywhere. There is no alternative to the plantation. There is no substitute for nature-based solutions, which Dhaka North is emphasising.

Mayor Atiqul also said, "There are about 6,500 tracks in Tejgaon. There are some lands owned by some agencies and ministries there. I have requested the authorities concerned to hand over the lands to us. Building a station there will bring it under proper management."

Dhaka North Mayor Atiqul Islam is a member of the Leadership Board of the Mayors' Migration Council, Co-Lead of the Task Force of the Mayors' Migration Council and a member of the Steering Committee of C40 Cities.

Chairman of C-40 Cities and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan presented this award to Md Atiqul Islam on 19 October 2022 at this year's summit of C-40 Cities in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

A total of 11 cities were awarded in five categories in line with the theme of this year's C40 Cities Summit, "United in Action".