State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam conducted a surprise inspection in the capital's Shahbagh area. Photo: BSS

DHAKA, June 14, 2026 (BSS) - State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam conducted a surprise inspection in the capital's Shahbagh area to prevent indiscriminate dumping of waste on roads by permanent and temporary shops and to raise public awareness.
 
During the inspection, the state minister expressed dissatisfaction after finding waste scattered in front of various shops in Shahbagh and directly warned the shopkeepers. To encourage the habit of disposing of waste at designated places, he distributed dustbins among the shopkeepers.
 
At the same time, a mobile court, operated through an executive magistrate of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), fined nine shopkeepers a total of Tk 19,500 for polluting the environment by dumping waste indiscriminately.
 
Speaking to journalists present at the scene, the state minister said, "We are not saying that we will make Dhaka as clean as Singapore or Europe overnight. But we want to keep Dhaka clean in our own way and make it habitable for ordinary people."

Referring to the fines, he said, "As a democratic government, we do not want to oppress any citizen. However, we expect citizens to refrain from throwing waste here and there and instead keep it at designated places from where the city corporation will collect it."
 
Urging all to practice good habits as responsible citizens, he sought the cooperation of the media in raising public awareness.
 
Dhaka South City Corporation Chief Executive Officer Md. Zahirul Islam, Chief Waste Management Officer Air Commodore Md. Mahabubur Rahman Talukdar and senior ministry officials were present during the drive.