It will be easier to solve civic problems if a partnership is built between the government and citizens, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat said on Wednesday.

“The government will perform its duty. But citizens should also play their roles from their sides . . . if citizens perform their responsibilities spontaneously, then a partnership between the government and citizens can be built, which would help resolve the civic problems easily,” he said.

The state minister was talking to reporters after visiting a weeklong waste exhibition in front of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Office in the city’s Gulshan-2 area this afternoon.

He said Dhaka city experiences water-logging even from light raining, but visiting these areas, it was found that drainages of that areas were filled with different types bottles, chips packets and other wastes while canals are filled with big-size wastes like mattresses, sofas, refrigerators and water purifiers.

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Putting emphasis on creating public awareness so the city dwellers don’t throw wastes here and there, he said it is impossible for the city corporation alone to keep the city clean if the dwellers continuously make it dirty without maintaining the rules.

Admiring the DNCC authority for organizing such an exhibition, Arafat said it is an excellent initiative to create public awareness.

The involvement of school and college students with this exhibition will create awareness about cleanliness among themselves too, which would help them to make the people aware, he added.

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Not only DNCC and the government, but the Awami League (AL) itself as a political party is also involved in carrying out such an awareness campaign.

DNCC Mayor Md Atiqul Islam and AL Office Secretary and Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Barrister Biplab Barua, senior officials of Dhaka North City Corporation and various ward councillors were present on the occasion.