Dustbin donated to Middle Badda kitchen market in Dhaka to protect public health
A dustbin has been provided to the Middle Badda kitchen market in the capital to ensure cleanliness. On Thursday (12 November), it was handed over in a joint initiative by the HealthBridge Foundation of Canada and the Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust, with the support of the Middle Badda Kitchen Market Committee.
According to the organisers, the aim of the initiative is to ensure the market's cleanliness and to raise awareness of health and environmental issues among buyers and sellers.
Speakers at the event said unplanned waste management has become one of the main causes of the public health and environmental crisis in Dhaka city. In kitchen markets in particular, dumping waste and perishable leftovers indiscriminately is creating a risk of germs spreading alongside environmental pollution, they said.
The speakers said a habit of throwing market leftovers and other waste in a designated place must be built. The combined participation of the market committee, sellers, buyers and local residents is extremely important in this, they said.
They also said that ensuring the market's cleanliness and a safe environment requires awareness, responsible behaviour and a joint initiative from everyone concerned. Only through the continuous implementation of small initiatives can a clean, healthy and liveable urban environment be built, they said.
Alongside the installation of the dustbin, a no-smoking sign was also provided to the market.
The speakers said waste management in a market cannot be ensured through a single dustbin alone. Their main purpose, they said, is to raise awareness that effective steps to protect a market's cleanliness are possible through small initiatives too. If the market committee and sellers act together, it will be possible in future to install more dustbins and take effective waste management measures, they said.
Present at the time were Middle Badda Kitchen Market Committee manager Md Masum Rana, WBB Trust project manager Naima Akter, project officer Md Imran Mia and communication officer Shanzida Akter, among others.
