Dhaka North City Corporation will be setting up holiday markets in all 54 wards under its jurisdiction, according to mayor Atiqul Islam. He said this while addressing the opening ceremony of a holiday market in the Agargaon area of the capital. The holiday market, an initiative of the DNCC and Oikko Foundation, will enable SME entrepreneurs to promote their products. It will be open to all every Friday and Saturday. “We organized this kind of market for the first time to promote the SME sector. If this pilot project runs smoothly, we will initiate setting up holiday markets like this in all 54 wards of Dhaka North,” he said. “Mainly SME entrepreneurs will sell their products in this market. There will be no middlemen, so they will sell their products directly to the customers at an affordable price,” he added. Mentioning that DNCC is working to restore the sidewalks as per the mayor’s election manifesto, he also said a pilot project for hawkers is underway at Mirpur 10. “Certain hawkers will be allowed there five days a week, after 4 p.m. We have also thought about establishing evening markets,” he said. Also read: Save our cities and people: DNCC mayor at COP27 In his inaugural speech, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi praised the initiative and urged involving more women entrepreneurs in all such initiatives. “Take steps so that women can come forward with their ventures,” he said.  Following the inauguration ceremony, the DNCC Mayor, along with the chief guest and other guests, visited the stalls. The market has a total of 100 stalls. SME entrepreneurs set up stalls for leather products, jute products, handicrafts, fashion and lifestyle products, home decor products, organic agricultural products, agricultural products, food, and beverages. Additional Police Commissioner of DMP Mir Rezaul Alam, Chief Executive Officer of Dhaka North City Corporation Selim Reza, and local councillors were also present at the ceremony.  

No person or organisations will be exempted if a breeding ground for mosquitoes is found under them and legal action will be taken, said Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Md Atiqul Islam on Monday. “Legal action will be taken against those who are found responsible for breeding ground of mosquitoes, no person or organisations will be spared. Cases will be filed on a regular basis no matter whether it is government or private organisations,” he said. DNCC mayor came up with the warning while speaking at a view-exchange meeting over the preventing outbreak of culex mosquitoes, held at the Nagar Bhaban auditorium in city’s Gulshan area. “The owners have been given seven days and all owners of the organisations should clean their places and water bodies. We’ll visit different places after seven days and the magistrates of DNCC will conduct the drive,” he said. Read more: DNCC evicts some 100 shops in Rayerbazar “I have visited the Airport area in person where I have seen that mosquitoes are being cultivated in the adjacent canal and water bodies, which is under the ownership of Civil Aviation, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and Housing and Public Works Ministry. There are huge amount of hyacinth in the water bodies there,” said Atiqul. He also urged all to clean the canals and water bodies and stop dropping waste in the empty place between two adjacent buildings. Referring to the pollution of canals and water bodies of the city, Atiqul said the canals and water bodies of the city are polluting through the sewage connection of many houses and buildings through surface drain. Read more: DNCC to launch 30-day drive amid uptick in dengue cases “We have said it several times that sewage management should be done in every building. Survey work has already been completed by our waste division in Gulshan, Banani, Niketan and Baridhara areas. The operation will be conducted in these areas on January 4. Strict action will be taken if sewage is connected to the surface drain,” he said.

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam has said that those who will restrict public movement by keeping construction material on the streets will face consequences. The DNCC mayor said this while attending an awareness-raising campaign against dengue in Mirpur’s Paikpara area today. “While searching for Aedes larvae, I found that building owners have kept construction material including rods, cement and sand out in the open, which were blocking the drains and causing water to accumulate on the streets. This practice must stop. Whether it’s a government, semi-government or private establishment, we’ll take tough actions against those who’ll cause public suffering,” said the mayor. Also read: Day 1 of Anti-dengue drive: DNCC realises over Tk 4 lakh in fines Meanwhile, a DNCC team led by Executive Magistrate Parsia Sultana Priyanka confiscated huge amount of construction material from the streets and sold them in an open auction at a price of Tk 18.45 lakh. Atiqul added that people have to be more aware to prevent dengue from spreading. “People’s awareness is a must for tackling such a deadly disease as dengue. This year, we’ve taken steps against dengue long before the start of monsoon and as a result, the virus has been contained to a great extent. We need peoples’ support for gaining complete control over dengue,” added Atiqul. Also read: DNCC to launch school bus services During the campaign, Mayor Atiqul also informed that free dengue check-up has been made available in a total of 44 city health centers. He also requested everyone to go to hospital and receive treatment immediately if affected with the virus.

A weeklong special drive to control Aedes mosquitoes that spread Dengue will kick off on Sunday, said Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam on Saturday. The mayor made the announcement on Saturday at an awareness campaign against Aedes mosquito at Uttara in the capital. Read: Warned Myanmar against firing shots towards Bangladesh, says Home Minister The drive will be conducted by separate teams in each 10 zones under DNCC, he said.  Mobile courts led by executive magistrates will take immediate legal action upon finding Aedes larvae, he added.

Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Atiqul Islam on Sunday urged to make dope tests compulsory for the crane operators. “Dope test should be compulsory for those who are tasked with heavy works specially crane operators and their mental health should be tested also,” he said. The DNCC Mayor said this while talking at a meeting over ensuring necessary security in the ongoing development projects under DNCC. Also read: DNCC Mayor wants to get rid of electric rickshaws “Every contractor firm should ensure security in reality not in papers and for this a daily or weekly meeting is needed over security issue. No safety, no work and if the workers did not get safety assurance, they can stop work,” said the Mayor. Replying to a question, Atiqul said no project work should be started without ensuring security and action will be taken against those involved in violating the order. “We’ll visit the sites of different projects and there will be magistrates for penalising.” Also read: DNCC demolishes two police boxes from in front of SSMCH Five people of a family including two children died after a girder of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project fell on a private car in the city's Uttara area on August 16.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Atiqul Islam and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh have been given the status of minister. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the new status of the two mayors of Dhaka, said a handout on Monday. Besides, the Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy and Chattogram City Corporation Mayor (CCC) Rezaul Karim Chowdhury were given the status of state minister. Also read: Ex-Barishal Mayor Kamal dies The authorities concerned have been asked to issue a gazette notification in this regard. Also read: DNCC Mayor wants to get rid of electric rickshaws

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Md Atiqul Islam on Sunday directed the department concerned of DNCC to take steps to preserve the grave of former Bangladesh national cricketer Mosharraf Hossain Rubel on humanitarian grounds. Earlier, Rubel's wife Chaiti Farhana had verbally appealed to the mayor through the media to preserve Rubel's grave permanently. Also read:Cricketer Mosharraf succumbs to brain cancer Expressing grief over the death of cricketer Rubel, the mayor said, "Mosharraf Hossain Rubel did not play for himself, he played for the country. His contribution has made the people of the country proud. That is why I think it is our responsibility to preserve his grave permanently.” Mayor Md Atiqul Islam is currently in Mecca to perform Umrah. He said proper measures will be taken as per the rules to preserve the grave after he returns to the country. On April 19, former cricketer Mosharraf Hossain Rubel died of brain cancer at hospital in the capital. He was 40. He was laid to rest at Banani Graveyard in the city. It costs about Tk one crore to buy land in this graveyard. The grave of Rubel will be removed to bury others after two years which made his wife appeal for preserving the grave permanently. Mosharraf got the first of his 5 caps for Bangladesh, all in ODIs, back in 2008. His last international appearance was in 2016, when he was called up abruptly for a series against Afghanistan. Before this series, he was out of the national set-up for more than eight years. Also read:Mosharraf Hossain Rubel: The late cricketer's major achievements as a player An allrounder who bowled left-arm spin and batted left-handed, Mosharraf was the player of the final in the Bangladesh Premier League 2013. He had numerous match-winning performances in the domestic level in a career spanning more than 15 years. Mosharraf bagged more than 500 wickets in competitive cricket, with 20 five-fors. He also had two First-class centuries and 16 half-centuries under his belt.

Seven parks and playgrounds were opened for city dwellers in Dhaka North City Corporation(DNCC) area on Saturday. DNCC Mayor Atiqul inaugurated the parks in Shyamoly area in the capital at a programme. Addressing the event, Atiqul Islam said, “These parks and playgrounds are New Year’s gift for the city dwellers and you need to take care of them now as they are your assets.” The seven parks and playgrounds are: Shyamoli Park, Iqbal Road Park, Humayun Road Park, Banani Block-C Park, Baridhara Park, Banani Block-F Park, Rayer Bazar Baishakhi Playground.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Md Atiqul Islam on Saturday said that 10 per cent holding tax rebate will be given to the owners of the buildings, which will have rainwater harvesting facility. The mayor was speaking as a special guest at a seminar titled "50 Years of Achievements and Futures in the Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector" at a city hotel. Chaired by Senior Secretary of Local Government Division Helal Uddin Ahmed, the Seminar was organized on the occasion of Bangabandhu’s birth centenary and golden jubilee of independence. Mayor Atiqul said Bangladesh has been able to make significant progress and success in the last 50 years in the safe water, sanitation and hygiene (wash) sector. The DNCC along other stakeholders is working to increase public awareness about safe water, sanitation and hygiene (wash). The Corporation has already completed construction of 47 environmentally friendly and hygienic public toilets, out of 63, he said. Read: No trade license for buildings without fire safety: DNCC Mayor The mayor said the overall environment including water is being polluted due to large number of unplanned houses of Dhaka city as sewage falls directly into drains or canals for lacking of effective septic tank and soak wells of the buildings in elite areas. Atiqul said that modern septic tanks and soak wells have to setup in the houses of the city and keep the purification system active. He emphasized that the purification system needs to be further strengthened by setting up area basis faecal sludge plants in the city corporation area. He said the work of power generation from waste is in the last stage for the first time in the country under the initiative of Dhaka North City Corporation. He also said that the Corporation is working sincerely with short, medium and long term plans to reduce water logging and pollution in the city. Read: Councillors found occupying canals to lose post: DNCC Mayor He said the city needs multiple well-planned reservoirs to solve the waterlogging problem. But sadly, out of 173 acres of land allotted for Kalyanpur reservoir, only 3 acres have reservoirs and the remaining 170 acres are in the possession of illegal occupants. So all-together have to vocal against the illegal occupiers. The DNCC mayor further said that unplanned Dhaka has to be transformed into a liveable, healthy, vibrant and modern Dhaka. Among others, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md. Tajul Islam and DSCC Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh addressed the seminar as chief guest and special guest respectively.

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam on Saturday said strict legal action would be taken if the hygiene rules and regulations were not followed properly at the sacrificial animal markets. The mayor issued the warning while addressing a meeting of the monitoring team at Gulshan Nagar Bhaban. The 15-member team was formed to scrutinize whether lease conditions for nine cattle markets, including the permanent one, were followed properly. The cattle hats have been set up on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. Also read: Mask-wearing campaign kicks off at cattle markets in 2 cities The team, headed by Councilor of Ward No-19  Md. Mofizur Rahman, comprises 13 Ward councillors and two veterinary officers. The cattle hats have been set up on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. He said each animal market under Dhaka North City Corporation has a mobile court led by one Executive Magistrate in charge of DNCC to ensure compliance with the health rules and regulations  He said Shakti Foundation has provided 200 trained volunteers, 200 vests and a sufficient number of masks at each market. In addition, the leaseholders have provided hand sanitizers and other health care items in all the cattle markets. Also read: 10 cattle markets to be set up maintaining health rules: DNCC Mayor The mayor said that in order to maintain proper social distance in the cattle markets, both buyers and sellers have to wear masks and use hand sanitizers. He said that "DNCC Digital Hat-2021" has been organized to prevent the spread of coronavirus by avoiding physical presence at the cattle markets. Among others, DNCC Executive Officer Md Selim Reza and Deputy Executive Director of Shakti Foundation Imran Ahmed were present at the meeting.