Businesses, residential buildings to face fine for littering: Ctg mayor

If any business establishment or residential building within Chattogram city is found disposing of garbage in the open, they must face legal action, including a fine, warned Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury.

"From this month, we will start fining businesses and residential buildings for littering. Some staff of the city corporation's cleaning department have been tasked with identifying people who throw garbage in drains and canals. Our magistrates will then impose fines and take legal action against them," said the mayor while launching a soil extraction project at a canal in Bahaddarhat of the city on Thursday.

He said no measure will be able to effectively curb littering unless people stop discarding plastic and polythene in canals and drains. 

"We have distributed leaflets [among people], and issued public notices in newspapers. We want to make people aware and involved [in anti-littering initiatives]," he added.

The mayor said in order to mitigate the waterlogging problem in the city, the city corporation will launch a drive to evict the establishments illegally constructed on the canals. The matter has already been discussed with various organisations concerned.

"With cooperation from all, we will demolish all the shops and houses built illegally on canals and footpaths," he said.

Chattogram City Councillors M Ashraful Haque and Esrarul Haque, Chief Cleaning Officer Commander Latiful Haque KaZmi, Chief Engineer Rafiqul Islam Manik and Executive Engineer Towhidul Islam, among others, were present.