Ensure that no community is left to fend for itself
The residents of Sreepur upazila in Gazipur deserve admiration. After enduring two decades of waterlogging, clogged drains, and official indifference, they united, contributed their own money, and built a functional drainage system themselves.
Their achievement reflects remarkable community spirit, resilience, and determination. It demonstrates how ordinary citizens refused to continue living with a problem that should have been resolved long ago.
Yet this is not how a properly functioning system is meant to operate.
Citizens should not be compelled to become engineers, fundraisers, and municipal workers simply to obtain basic urban services. The fact that residents had to take matters into their own hands is not evidence of empowerment; it is a clear indication of institutional failure.
For decades, the people of Sreepur have endured stagnant water, damaged roads, mosquito infestations, and the daily hardship caused by a problem that no authority appeared willing to address. Such a situation is simply unacceptable.
Their initiative deserves recognition, but it should also prompt serious reflection. When communities are forced to build their own infrastructure, it exposes significant shortcomings in governance, accountability, and public service delivery.
Bangladesh’s urban future cannot depend on local communities solving structural problems on their own. Drainage, waste management, roads, and water supply are fundamental responsibilities of municipal authorities. When these systems fail, the effects extend across public health, mobility, and overall quality of life.
The residents of Sreepur have demonstrated the power of collective action. It is now up to the authorities to prove they have learned from this experience, rather than merely applauding citizens for doing work that falls within the government’s responsibilities. They must respond more quickly, plan more effectively, maintain essential infrastructure, and ensure that no community is left to fend for itself for decades.
This is unquestionably an inspiring story. But it is also one that should never have been necessary.
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