Special Committees in Dhaka's 20 Zones to Combat Dengue, to Be Led by Officials from the Prime Minister's Office

Special committees are being formed in 20 zones of Dhaka metropolis to oversee dengue prevention, strengthen cleanliness drives, demarcate and re-excavate canals, and supervise tree-planting activities. A total of 20 zonal committees - 10 each - will work under Dhaka North and South City Corporations. The initiative aims to ensure visible progress in implementing the Prime Minister's directives.

The Local Government Ministry has taken this decision. The committees will be led by officials of director rank from the Prime Minister's Office. It has also been decided to include one executive magistrate in each committee, so that there is no lack of administrative authority in implementing decisions at field level.

The decisions were taken on Sunday (18 October) at a meeting held in the conference room of the Local Government Division to review progress on dengue prevention, cleanliness, canal re-excavation and tree-planting activities in Dhaka metropolis. The meeting was chaired by Mir Shahe Alam, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives. Ahmmed Sohel Monjur, State Minister for Housing and Public Works, was present as special guest.

The zonal committees will include representatives from the Local Government Division, the Health Services Division, the Secondary and Higher Education Division, Dhaka WASA, the Metropolitan Police, and the engineering, waste management, medical wings and law enforcement agencies of the two city corporations. In other words, almost all the agencies involved in dengue control are being brought under one umbrella.

In addition, a high-level monitoring committee will be formed, with the State Minister for Housing and Public Works as convener, to observe, direct and coordinate the activities of the 20 zonal committees. It will include senior officials from the Local Government Division, the city corporations, Dhaka WASA, the Health Services Division and the Secondary and Higher Education Division.

Sources concerned said the zonal committees will conduct cleanliness drives on the ground, oversee canal boundary demarcation and excavation work, and ensure effective measures are taken and implemented to destroy mosquitoes. Through regular monitoring of the progress of these activities, coordinated initiatives will be taken to implement the Prime Minister's directives.

The logic of linking canals and cleanliness together with dengue is clear - stagnant water and unhygienic surroundings are the main breeding grounds for mosquitoes. So the plan includes not only spraying insecticide to kill mosquitoes, but also demarcating canal boundaries and re-excavating them, alongside regular cleanliness drives, within the same plan. Supervision of tree planting is also part of the committees' work.

Senior Secretary of the Local Government Division Md. Shahidul Hasan, along with senior officials from the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, the Secondary and Higher Education Division, Dhaka WASA and Dhaka North and South City Corporations, attended the meeting. This presence from the highest levels of the administration shows how seriously the government is taking the matter.

In effect, under this structure responsibility is divided into two tiers - the 20 zonal committees will work in the field, and the high-level monitoring committee will keep account of their work. It is believed that leadership by Prime Minister's Office officials in each zone and the presence of an executive magistrate will help implement field-level decisions quickly.

Attention will now be on implementation. When the committees take to the field, how much visible progress comes in cleanliness drives and canal excavation, and whether it has an effect on the dengue situation - these will determine how effective this special arrangement turns out to be.