Mostafizar Rahman Mostafa, outgoing mayor of Rangpur City Corporation (RpCC) and Mayor elect, wants to complete his incomplete works for the development of Rangpur city during his fresh tenure.
In an interview with The Daily Observer, Mostafa said he wants to make a model city corporation by accelerating the development work of the extended 18 wards.
In the election of RpCC held on December 27, the Jatiya Party leader was re-elected to the mayoral post for the second time with a huge margin.
The newly-elected Mayor said the city corporation will complete its 10 years in February of 2023. But, the corporation failed to fulfil the expectations of its dwellers duly due to various obstacles.
"In the 33 wards of the city corporation, they could ensure civic benefits of only 40 per cent. To meet up the other demands and enhance the civic benefits more, it requires more time and funding. I had tried my best during my period. But, I could not do any work during the two years of Corona pandemic period. Now, I have got another chance to complete the works and I will try to complete those," he added.
Regarding development, Mostafa said during the entire period of my mayoral charge, we have done work of worth Tk 1,200 crore. Eight new unions were incorporated in the city corporation. Those were divided into 18 new wards. All of the roads in the newly included areas are unusable. There is no drainage facility in the area. A lot of works are still to be done to bring civic benefits there.
"I hope for the positive attitude from the government in allocating funds for completing the development works in these areas which are lagging behind in the civic facilities of the city corporation," he urged.
Mostafa also said not only the roads, but also the banks of Ghaghat river, Shyama Sundari canal, KD canal, health services, education sector are all in fragile condition. Positive attitude and assistance of the government is needed to fix those problems.
Mentioning about many problems of Rangpur City Corporation, he said, "Manpower shortage is a major problem for the city corporation. The organogram of manpower has not yet been approved. We need experienced manpower to run its works well. These works are being carried out by hired people from outside. We are implementing some small projects using hired people."
Thanking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her cooperation and special attention, Mostafa said, "The Prime Minister has given special attention to Rangpur. Thanks to the central government, especially to the Prime Minister. She has not ignored any project for Rangpur. Now, we want to present our demand to the central government from the primary level."
He said, "It is possible to turn the city corporation area into a model city, if opportunity is given like the other city corporations."
"Rajshahi is a city corporation of around 54 square km while Rangpur is a city corporation of 205 square km. We need a lot of fund to complete its development. I would like to request the government that it would allocate adequate fund for the new city corporation. If we get funds like Dhaka North and South City, Khulna, Rajshahi and Chittagong cities, I am sure than we can go forward," Mostafa claimed.
Regarding the Prime Minister's commitment given in the public meeting in Rangpur, Mostafa said, "The Prime Minister told in the meeting at Rangpur Zilla School that she took the responsibility of Rangpur's development on her shoulders. Now, we want to see its reflection through the support of Rangpur City Corporation."
