Some leaders and activists of the Banani police station and ward units of the Bangladesh Awami League had once “successfully” demonstrated how garbage collection could be turned into a business through mutual sharing arrangements without internal clashes or violence.
After the fall of the Bangladesh Awami League government during the mass uprising, they lost control of that business. However, the system they introduced has remained in place. Now, some leaders and activists of the Banani thana and ward units of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its affiliated bodies are operating it.
Banani, known as one of Dhaka’s upscale neighborhoods, falls under Ward no. 19 of Dhaka North City Corporation. Banani has 28 main roads. To avoid internal disputes, local Awami League leaders had earlier reached an understanding over which roads would be controlled by which groups for household garbage collection. They divided the 28 roads into seven zones. Following that same model, BNP leaders divided Banani’s 28 roads into 12 zones in December 2024 (the Awami League government fell on 5 August, 2024).
The garbage business was distributed among certain posted leaders of Banani thana BNP, ward BNP, and local units of Jubo Dal, Chhatra Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, Sramik Dal, Krishak Dal, Mohila Dal, and Matsyajibi Dal. This distribution was mainly based on three considerations: local influence, power, and manpower.
Some control one road, others two, and some as many as three roads. During the first week of this May, Prothom Alo spoke with 28 people—including local BNP activists, city corporation officials, and workers involved in van services that transport garbage—to identify who controls which roads in Banani.
One major reason behind the interest in Banani’s garbage business is that garbage collection fees per apartment are much higher there than in other parts of Dhaka North. Although the city corporation has fixed the rate at Tk 100 per flat, no less than Tk 300 is charged in Banani. For hotels and restaurants, the fee ranges from at least Tk 3,000 to Tk 5,000.
