Khulna had been reputed as a clean city, but no more. There are piles of garbage all around. The administration speaks of technical problems, but apparently the administration has been assailed by inertia. Things cannot continue this way.
Monday's Prothom Alo has a report, along with photographs, of the pitiful predicament of Khulna's waste disposal. There is garbage all over, on the main roads and down the lanes. The city corporation garbage trucks are irregular. Garbage lies around till late in the day in residential areas, around schools and shopping centres, causing public suffering.
The officer in the city corporation in charge of this duty, blames the lack of a garbage relocation centre. They said that there was a lack of land for the purpose. The district administration and Khulna Development Authority (KDA) both avoid responsibility for no allocating land. Meanwhile, the problem persists.
As the Khulna mayor has been backed by BNP, he is under pressure. He faces all sorts of charges and there are speculations that he may even be dismissed from his post. Several councillors are in the same condition. It is not possible for anyone to carry out their duties properly under such circumstances. We hope that the non-political office of the city father is not assaulted by political pressures. It is the people who will suffer. This has already been evident. Khulna is an important city, a divisional town, a port and has a university. It is less populated and has plenty of land. Its beauty can easily be maintained and further enhanced.