Newly appointed administrator of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Abdus Salam has said the city administration has virtually collapsed due to the absence of public governance for a long time, identifying corruption, extortion, mugging and terrorism as major challenges to restoring dynamism in civic services.

The DSSC made the remarks on Tuesday while responding to questions from reporters after paying homage by placing wreaths at the graves of Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital.

Salam said various problems have accumulated in different sectors as city corporations failed to function properly for a long time. In particular, mosquito infestation has increased due to a lack of cleanliness, he said, adding that ensuring regular cleaning of the metropolis and taking effective measures to control mosquitoes are major challenges for the administration.

He said a specific timeframe has been set to address these issues. “Within the next nine months, we want to resolve the major problems and return power to the people,” he said.

Regarding corruption, the administrator said the government would take appropriate action if any irregularities are found. He added that the the DSCC administration would make its utmost effort to prevent any future corruption or misconduct.

On mosquito control, Salam said the responsibility does not lie with the city corporation alone, stressing that public awareness is also essential. The city corporation and residents must work together to ensure cleanliness, he said.

Newly appointed administrator of Dhaka North City Corporation Shafiqul Islam Khan was also present and spoke to reporters.