Badda Goes 15 Days Without City Corporation Waste Collection
Graphics: Agamir Somoy generated by AI
A large garbage container stands beside a rickshaw garage in East Badda's Post Office Lane. Filled to the brim with waste, it has become a breeding ground for flies and foul odors. Similar scenes can be found in front of many homes across the neighborhood.
Residents say waste collection trucks from the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) have not visited the area for the past 15 days, effectively turning much of East Badda into an open dumping ground.
City corporation officials say a new tender process is underway and that residents should arrange private vans to transport their garbage to designated dumping sites at their own expense. However, residents say they were never informed of the arrangement.
Urban planners have questioned why a new tender was not completed before the previous contract expired.
At the rickshaw garage, four drivers were eating lunch when this correspondent visited the area. The garage operates a small meal service run by Md. Nayan, who came forward upon hearing questions about waste collection.
Nayan said city corporation vehicles have stopped collecting garbage from Post Office Lane. After waste piled up for about a week, he hired a van at his own expense to transport the garbage to a city corporation dumping site.
It cost him Tk 150. He also claims he never recovered the waste container used to transport the garbage, which he valued at about Tk 800.
"I lost the container and spent another Tk 150 on transportation," Nayan said. "Yet I normally pay Tk 200 a month for city corporation waste collection."
According to him, disposing of just one week's worth of waste privately cost nearly as much as a full month's collection fee.
Local homeowner Md. Halim echoed residents' frustrations while speaking at a roadside tea stall.
He alleged that a dispute between two political groups over waste collection contracts is behind the disruption.
"Garbage trucks used to come occasionally, but we haven't seen any in the last two weeks," Halim said. "We've been suffering from this problem since the election."
Another resident, Helal shared a similar experience. He lives near Kabarstan Road and said he continues to pay the monthly Tk 200 waste collection fee, yet garbage is no longer being collected from the area.
The problem extends from Post Office Lane in East Badda to Kabarstan Road. While waste collection vans continue to operate in other neighborhoods, services in this area have effectively stopped.
Piles of garbage were seen along roadsides, in front of homes and even inside building basements and vehicle garages. In some places, decomposing waste has produced foul-smelling runoff that has spread into surrounding areas. Residents say the city corporation has shown little urgency in addressing the situation.
Attempts to reach the chief waste management officer for comment were unsuccessful. However, Deputy Chief Waste Management Officer Md. Mofizur Rahman Bhuiyan acknowledged the problem.
When informed of the conditions in East Badda, Bhuiyan said, "A new tender process is underway. The problem will be resolved soon. In the meantime, residents can arrange private vans at their own expense to transport the waste to designated dumping sites."
He did not provide a timeline for when DNCC waste collection vehicles would resume service in the area.
The situation has prompted criticism from urban planners, who questioned why a new contract for such an essential daily service was not finalized before the previous one expired.
They said city authorities should complete the next tender process before an existing contract ends to avoid disruptions in critical public services.
Urban planners also suggested that if political disputes are contributing to the delay, the matter should be investigated to determine responsibility and prevent similar problems in the future.
