Chittagong

Chittagong (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম, Chaṭṭagrām) is the major sea-port and second largest city of Bangladesh. It is located in the south-eastern portion of the country near Myanmar (Burma). The city was built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, which ends nearby, in the Bay of Bengal. Chittagong has a population of over 3.5 million, and is continuing to grow. One of the cleanest cities of Bangladesh, it has had an ancient reputation of great mystique and beauty.

Administration

The administrative functions of Chittagong are carried out by a melange of organisations. The City Corporation of Chittagong is the only elected body. The Mayor and the Ward Commissioners are elected. The Chief Executive officer is a senior government official deputed by the government. There is no de jure focal point of control and coordination at the city level. The various agencies have respective lines of control, coordination, policy determination and finance terminating in various ministries in Dhaka. The Mayor being the senior elected official at the city level occasionally operates as a de facto centre of coordination on some operational matters.

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The City Corporation has a rather limited mandate and budget for carrying out the responsibilities of managing some basic civic services like street-lighting, conservancy, sewerage, city beautification, maintenance of city roads and mosquito eradication, etc. The City Corporation collects municipal taxes and conservancy charges, which provide the principal source of finance for the Corporation.

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In 1994 the City had elected its First Elected Mayor, Alhaj ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury. He had been in charge for almost a decade, winning one re-election, un-opposed. During his tenure, he was able to proceed with various development projects despite lack of official funding from successive Central Governments. He had also suffered from lack of jurisdiction in terms of implementing development projects since all the projects undertaken by the City Corporation have to be permitted by the Ministry of Local Government in Dhaka (LGRD Ministry) (see paragraph on limited mandate above). His effort has turned the city into the cleanest and most planned cosmopolitan urban area of Bangladesh with wide roads, improved sewerage system, etc. Unlike other City Corporations of Bangladesh, Chittagong City Corporation is financially self sufficient and runs schools, colleges, madrashas (religious schools), mosque complex, hospitals, primary health care clinics, and most importantly, a private University, Premier University. The most notable achievement of Mohiuddin was, implementing his development projects without raising any tax. Many of his development projects have been vetoed by the government in Dhaka due to political disagreement with him. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mir Nasir Uddin challenged the incumbent mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury in Chittagong City Corporation Election on 9 May 2005. Mr Mohiuddin won a landslide victory for a third term with an increased majority of over 90,000 votes, despite widespread allegation that the ruling party Candidate Mr Nasir Uddin had help from the Government in the run up to the election. A massive crowd of at least 20 thousand people kept the election control room beseized over night, to stop any attempt to steal their mandate to Mohiuddin.

Related Topics:
9 May - 2005

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Maintenance of Law and order in the city is the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. The Home Ministry performs the function of control and coordination of both these institutions.

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The office of the Deputy Commissioner maintains Land Records and collects Land Revenue. If land is to be acquired for any public use then it is the office of the Deputy Commissioner which carries out the procedural operations.

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The District and Sessions Judge is the head of the judicial administration at the City Level. Trials relating to serious public offences and all the civil offences are carried out in the court of the District and Sessions Judge. The Supreme Court controls and coordinates the functions of the District and Sessions Judge.

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The Power Development Board, The Titas Gas Co Ltd and the Oil companies are responsible for the supply of electricity, gas and fuel oil etc to the city, respectively. All these agencies come under the control and coordination of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

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Health services are mainly provided by hospitals run by the Health Ministry. The City Corporation has its own Health Services and hospitals which supplement the services provided by the government and the NGOs. There are a number of NGO-run clinics in addition to mushrooming private clinics, which are run on a commercial basis.

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Educational facilities in the city are substantially provided by the Ministry of Education, supplemented by the service provided by the City Corporation, NGOs, and the private sector. The Chittagong University, the Chittagong Medical College and the Chittagong Engineering College are almost totally funded by the government.

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Chittagong port falls within the limits of the city of Chittagong. Hence all the basic civic services of the port fall within the responsibility of the City Corporation and various other governmental agencies serving in the area.

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The Chittagong Development Authority (CDA), which consists of one Chairman and five Members (all are appointed by the government and may be either permanent government officials or non-officials), is primarily responsible for framing and implementing the Master Plan for city development. The CDA makes and implements plans for area development (i.e. commercial areas, residential areas and recreational areas etc) and city road development in accordance with the approved Master Plan for the city. The CDA is also responsible for enforcement of the city building code. No permanent structure can be built within the CDA area without prior approval of the plan by CDA. The CDA comes under the control and coordination of the Ministry of Works. The level of coordination with the City Corporation is more on an ad hoc basis and at an operational level.

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The Department of Fire Brigade and Civil Defence, controlled by the Ministry of Home, provides fire fighting and emergency rescue services within the city areas. The Telephone and Telecommunication Department controlled by the T&T Ministry provides telecommunication services. A number of private telephone companies are also serving the area.

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