Not to receive, but to give: DC Zahid brings flowers

Usually, government officials are welcomed with flowers. In Chattogram, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mian turned the tradition around.

The DC arrived at the Chattogram District Sports Association (CJKS) Shopping Complex on Tuesday with flowers and crests to thank traders who helped remove around 200 to 250 truckloads of waste that had accumulated at the site for more than a decade.

“The district administration does not only receive flowers; it gives flowers too,” Zahid said.

The shopping complex, located beside MA Aziz Stadium in Kazir Dewri, had been covered with household and construction waste for 12 to 13 years, creating foul smells, obstructing movement and posing health and fire risks.

Zahid said some of the waste was flammable and a fire could have endangered both the shopping complex and the adjacent stadium.

The district administration has been conducting cleanliness and beautification drives across Chattogram under the slogan “Clean our towns and villages, build an aesthetic Chattogram.”

The campaign was intensified during the dengue outbreak, with cleanliness drives carried out at around 2,000 mosques and special programmes conducted in dengue-prone Sitakunda and later Karnaphuli.

The CJKS waste dump was subsequently brought under focus. The issue was discussed at a meeting of the CJKS ad hoc committee on September 28, after which shop owners and traders began clearing the site.

Within days, the decade-old waste was removed.

Kamal Hossain, general secretary of the shop owners’ association, said the committee had already planned to clean the area and proceeded after receiving support from the district administration.

He said he was surprised when the DC personally came to thank the traders with flowers.

“I never imagined the DC himself would come and thank us with flowers. His recognition has encouraged us,” Kamal said.

Association President Muklesur Rahman said the traders had carried out the cleanup for the public good.

“We did it for the public good. The recognition from the DC is a great reward for us,” he said.

CJKS Member Secretary Mohammad Salauddin said it was unusual for an official to present flowers to citizens who had carried out such work.

Zahid said administrative directives alone could not transform a city and that citizens also had to take responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean.

“Removing 200 to 250 truckloads of waste from the heart of the city was no small task. The flowers may be a small gesture, but my respect for them is much greater,” he said.

The administration now plans to turn the cleared site into a garden with seating and drinking water facilities. CCTV cameras will also be installed to prevent illegal dumping, and those found dumping waste will face legal action, the DC said.

“There will be no compromise on this,” he said.