The government has appointed two administrators to the newly carved up Dhaka City Corporation North and South.
The Local Government Division issued the order on Sunday amidst a dawn-to-dusk Dhaka shutdown enforced by main opposition BNP protesting against the split.
The Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) director general Khorshed Alam Chowdhury has been made DCC North administrator while primary and mass education additional secretary Khalilur Rahman will run DCC South until elected representative take over in a ballot in three months' time.
"The proposal to appoint the two administrators has been sent to the prime minister for approval and an official order will be issued once it is done," state minister for LGRD Jahangir Kabir Nanak said. He, however, declined to name the appointed administrators.
But additional secretary Khalilur Rahman confirmed bdnews24.com of his appointment as DCC (South) administrator. "Khorshed Alam has been appointed as the administrator of DCC north. However, I have still not received an official order regarding this."
The appointments came after the president signed into law a related bill passed in the parliament on Nov 29.
The administrators will hand over power to the elected mayors. As per law, mayoral elections will take place in the two city corporations within 90 days after the appointment of the administrators.
DCC (NORTH) HQ IN GULSHAN
The junior local government minister also said that the temporary office for the DCC North will be set up at the mayor's official residence in Gulshan.
"The new administrator and officials will carry out their activities from there. It will later be shifted to Banani Community Centre."
Nanak added that a 'lot of preparation' is needed before DCC activities can be carried out from the community centre, "Until then, all activities will be conducted from the Mayor House."
He continued 'good intentions' were behind the DCC split: "We want to deliver services at the doorsteps of the citizens. We do not want to decentralise the administration on paper only, and want to do something good."
The minister also said the government will see to it that that the split does not adversely affect DCC employees: "A meeting with officials and employees has already been called and we will sit on Monday at the ministry with officials and employees of all levels."
Nanak said they have written to the Election Commission asking it to hold mayoral polls within 90 days.
Election Commissioner M Shakhawat Hossain had earlier said that the time given to hold the elections "is not enough."
