Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) held a special mosquito control, cleanliness and tree-planting programme in wards 55, 56 and 57 of Kamrangirchar.

DSCC administrator and freedom fighter Md Abdus Salam opened the programme as chief guest at the Kamrangirchar Government Secondary School ground at 2:30pm on Tuesday (11 August). Dhaka-7 MP Hamidur Rahman was present as special guest.

Urging everyone to put tree planting above party politics and come forward to protect the environment, Abdus Salam said the programme was being held to help achieve the plan announced by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to plant 25 crore saplings across the country in five years. Trees belong to no party, he said; whoever plants them, the whole country and society benefit.

He said trees are a second life for people. People get oxygen from trees, and trees absorb carbon dioxide and polluted air from vehicles and other sources. But as the number of trees falls, Dhaka's air pollution is rising day by day, increasing illnesses and the risk of heart disease and other conditions. People must plant more trees for their own health and that of future generations; if each person planted one tree, all of society would benefit.

Stressing tree planting at Kamrangirchar's schools, the administrator said the whole area would turn green if trees were planted at every school. Students must also take responsibility for caring for and protecting them.

He said various development works had begun in Kamrangirchar soon after he took charge, including work on roads, playgrounds and waterlogging. Not every problem can be solved in a few months, but they will be solved step by step.

Calling on residents to guard against mosquito-borne disease, he said mosquito larvae can breed wherever water stands for more than three days in or around homes. Alongside insecticide spraying, residents must make sure water does not collect on their own premises.

Kamrangirchar thana BNP convener Mohammad Naim, the DSCC's chief waste management officer and chief health officer, local BNP leaders and activists, and teachers and students of various schools were present.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.