“Banani Model” introduced by Awami League still continues

Some leaders and activists of the Banani police station and ward units of the Bangladesh Awami League had once “successfully” demonstrated how garbage collection could be turned into a business through mutual sharing arrangements without internal clashes or violence.

After the fall of the Bangladesh Awami League government during the mass uprising, they lost control of that business. However, the system they introduced has remained in place. Now, some leaders and activists of the Banani thana and ward units of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its affiliated bodies are operating it.

Banani, known as one of Dhaka’s upscale neighborhoods, falls under Ward no. 19 of Dhaka North City Corporation. Banani has 28 main roads. To avoid internal disputes, local Awami League leaders had earlier reached an understanding over which roads would be controlled by which groups for household garbage collection. They divided the 28 roads into seven zones. Following that same model, BNP leaders divided Banani’s 28 roads into 12 zones in December 2024 (the Awami League government fell on 5 August, 2024).

The garbage business was distributed among certain posted leaders of Banani thana BNP, ward BNP, and local units of Jubo Dal, Chhatra Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, Sramik Dal, Krishak Dal, Mohila Dal, and Matsyajibi Dal. This distribution was mainly based on three considerations: local influence, power, and manpower.

Some control one road, others two, and some as many as three roads. During the first week of this May, Prothom Alo spoke with 28 people—including local BNP activists, city corporation officials, and workers involved in van services that transport garbage—to identify who controls which roads in Banani.

One major reason behind the interest in Banani’s garbage business is that garbage collection fees per apartment are much higher there than in other parts of Dhaka North. Although the city corporation has fixed the rate at Tk 100 per flat, no less than Tk 300 is charged in Banani. For hotels and restaurants, the fee ranges from at least Tk 3,000 to Tk 5,000.

According to three Banani thana BNP leaders and five workers involved in garbage collection (van drivers transporting garbage), the largest share of the business—garbage collection from homes around 10 roads in Banani—is controlled by followers of Banani thana Swechchhasebak Dal president Rezaul Karim. He is assisted by the organisation’s general secretary Chan Mia. The roads under their control are Banani roads 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 16, 26, and 28.

Local BNP leaders said that after the fall of the Awami League government, the garbage collection companies previously controlled by Awami League leaders ceased operations. At that time, ward no. 19 BNP member Mohammad Lutfor, thana Swechchhasebak Dal member Solaiman, and several others took over the waste collection business. However, they could not maintain sole control for long.

In December 2024, the entire garbage business of Banani came under the control of Rezaul Karim, president of Banani thana Swechchhasebak Dal. He retained 10 roads for himself and also decided who would operate in the remaining 18 roads. Those roads were then distributed among BNP leaders and activists from affiliated organisations.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Rezaul Karim said it was not correct to say that he alone controlled garbage collection and bill collection in these 10 roads. According to him, leaders and activists from Banani thana BNP, ward BNP, and other affiliated organisations are also involved. The work is being run collectively, and the money collected at the end of the month is shared among party leaders and activists.

Rezaul Karim told Prothom Alo, “At one time our former councillor Naki bhai (Abdul Alim Naki) controlled this. Later, when the activists united, the 28 roads were distributed among different organisations. Different organisations provide service on different roads.”

According to van drivers involved in garbage transportation, after Rezaul Karim, the person with the second-largest share—three roads—is thana Jubo Dal member secretary Hasibul Islam (Mim). He controls Roads 7, 8, and 9.

Banani unit BNP president Ali Ahmed said that after 5 August, 2024, Ward No. 19 BNP member Md Lutfor and thana Swechchhasebak Dal member Solaiman were responsible for garbage collection and bill collection in Roads 7, 8, and 9 and some surrounding areas. However, others later took over the business through influence in December of that year. Among them, Mim received responsibility for Roads 7, 8, and 9.

Multiple sources within Banani thana BNP said that ward BNP president Abdul Momin was assigned garbage collection and billing responsibilities for homes around Roads 25 and 27. Banani thana BNP joint convener Md Khokon controls Roads 22 and 24. Banani unit BNP president Ali Ahmed oversees garbage collection and billing in Roads 14 and 23.

However, Ward No. 19 BNP president Abdul Momin told Prothom Alo that although roads have been allocated in the names of leaders from different affiliated organisations, the real control largely remains with Swechchhasebak Dal president Rezaul Karim. He added that after 5 August, 2024, Rezaul Karim even took control of roads north of Kamal Ataturk Avenue that had previously been managed by his own workers.

According to workers involved in garbage collection and local BNP leaders, two leaders from Banani thana Sramik Dal and Matsyajibi Dal control four roads. Banani Roads 10 and 15 are under the supervision of Banani thana Sramik Dal president Harunur Rashid, while Roads 20 and 21 are controlled by Banani thana Matsyajibi Dal general secretary Sanaullah Sanowar.

Two leaders of Titumir College Chhatra Dal from nearby Mohakhali have been assigned responsibility for garbage collection and billing in Roads 17 and 19. Two Banani thana BNP leaders confirmed the matter but declined to disclose their names.

According to those leaders, three roads are under the control of Banani thana Krishak Dal, Mohila Dal, and Chhatra Dal. Thana Krishak Dal general secretary Md Samad controls Road 18, thana Mohila Dal joint convener Beauty Begum controls Road 12, and thana Chhatra Dal president Naim Uddin Mezbah oversees Road 13.

Regarding the allocation of garbage collection responsibilities among leaders of BNP’s affiliated and associate organisations, Rezaul Karim told Prothom Alo: “The thana BNP and organisations like Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, Krishak Dal, Sramik Dal, Matsyajibi Dal, Mohila Dal—all these groups have been given different roads to maintain. No single person has sole control over this.”

According to the revenue department of Dhaka North City Corporation, Ward No. 19 has 22,541 holdings. Around 8,000 of those are located in Banani. In some cases, buildings with six to eight or more apartments have only one holding number, while in other cases a single apartment has its own holding number. The city corporation generally calculates six apartments per holding.

Assuming an average of six apartments per holding, Banani has approximately 48,000 flats. Each flat is charged between Tk 300 and Tk 500 for garbage collection. Even if an average of Tk 300 per flat is counted, monthly revenue from the garbage business amounts to Tk 14.4 million.

According to the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association, Banani has around 150 hotels and restaurants of various sizes. These commercial establishments are charged between Tk 3,000 and Tk 5,000 per month for garbage collection. Leaders of the restaurant association said larger hotels and restaurants pay as much as Tk 8,000 to Tk 10,000 monthly.

If each restaurant pays an average of Tk 4,000 taka monthly, this sector alone generates around Tk 600,000 per month. Altogether, from residential buildings and hotels-restaurants combined, BNP leaders and activists reportedly earn nearly Tk 15 million per month from the garbage business in Banani.

Imran Hasan, secretary general of the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association, told Prothom Alo that although many hotel owners privately express frustration over garbage fees, few speak publicly because even a single day without garbage collection creates serious problems. He said the city corporation should introduce proper discipline and oversight in garbage collection for homes and hotels. (End)