The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Dhaka City Corporation Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka yesterday said the celebration of 400 years of Dhaka will begin this year.

Presiding over a views exchange meeting on Dhaka's 400 years with civil society representatives he said a mega programme will be organised to mark the occasion.

The City Mayor also said that a complete history of Dhaka history will also be published.

At the meeting the civil society representatives emphasised on freeing River Burigonga from pollution and putting a boundary wall around the Dhaka city.

Replying to them Khoka said the DCC has limitation of resources and it is running with its meagre revenue. He said, "Firstly we have to fix how many people will live in this country of 55 thousand square miles. We have to fix the accommodating capacity of the country."

He said people over than the accommodation capacity is living in the city. The sewerages of the city are dumped in the Buriganga and polluting its water.

The Dhaka Mayor said the government has taken a move to protect the rivers from pollution. The Ministry of Water Resources is working on it, he said.

Khoka said all the departments of the government will have to work together to make the city liveable.

Former Vice Chancellor of University of Dhaka Prof Emajuddin Ahmed, Former Director General of National Museum Shamsuzzaman Khan, M Hamid, Syed Rezaur Rahman, Imdadul Haque Milon, Mafidul Huq and sharif Uddin Ahmed Khan also spoke, among others, on the occasion.