Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Ishraque Hossain, who is yet to take oath as mayor of the Dhaka South City Corporation following a court verdict, inaugurated a mosquito control programme at Nagar Bhaban, the headquarters of the DSCC, on Wednesday.
Following the inaugural ceremony, Ishraque also held a views-exchange meeting with the employees of DSCC health department over controlling the ongoing deadly dengue menace and a fresh hike of Covid infections, under a banner in which Ishraque was referred to as 鈥榚lected mayor鈥�.
Earlier on the day, addressing a sit-in programme by Ishraque supporters demanding his swearing-in, he alleged that the interim government was 鈥榙eliberately鈥� disrupting the services at the DSCC.
鈥榃e have kept emergency services running even during the protest. But we鈥檝e learnt that the government, particularly local government adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, has directed city corporation officials not to perform their duties,鈥� he said.
He further said, 鈥榊esterday (Tuesday), we came to know that the local government adviser and the secretary instructed the DSCC regional executive officers not to sign off on birth and death certificates, as well as on warisan certificates. They are deliberately trying to disrupt services and then shift the blame onto us.鈥櫬�
Earlier on Monday, under a banner in which Ishraque was referred to as 鈥榟onourable mayor鈥�, Ishraque held a meeting with the DSCC waste management staff, followed by meetings on Tuesday with the DSCC ward secretaries, administrative officers, and former BNP-backed ward councillors at Nagar Bhaban.
Following the meeting with ward secretaries, he instructed them to handle civic services, including the issuance of birth and death certificates, from the ward offices.
Since May 15, civic services at Nagar Bhaban and other DSCC zonal offices have remained halted due to protests by Ishraque and his supporters, demanding Ishraque taking office.
The Election Commission on April 27 issued a gazette declaring Ishraque as the DSCC mayor after the Election Tribunal announced him as mayor on March 27.
But the EC gazette was challenged by Supreme Court lawyer Mamunur Rashid who filed a writ against the notification on May 14.
Later, the court cleared the way for Ishraque鈥檚 mayoral oath, but the Local Government Division has yet to take any steps in this regard.
After the fall of authoritarian Awami League regime on August 5, 2024, the interim government declared the DSCC mayoral office vacant on August 19. Before that, Awami League leader Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh was serving as mayor.
