Dhaka: Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Annisul Huq on Sunday stressed the need for forming a tribunal to bring river encroachers to justice.

“Encroachers are turning rivers into canals through their rampant encroachment across the country…is there anybody more powerful than the government? I don’t think so. Form a tribunal and bring the encroachers to justice,” he told a seminar in the capital.

Rajuk (Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha) organised the two-day national seminar on the draft of Dhaka Structure Plan 2016-2035 at its auditorium.

Speaking on the occasion, Annisul Huq said the city corporations must be strengthened to reach services to the doorsteps of city dwellers.

“Let’s function. The maintenance of city’s parks is not Rajuk’s duty. Hand over the parks to us.”

He said as a number of government bodies are working in Dhaka city, a taskforce should be formed to strengthen cooperation among the bodies, including Rajuk, Dhaka Wasa and the city corporations.

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokan said there are some 56 directorates and departments involved in providing services to city dwellers, but they have no coordination among them.

“Dhaka city is in a critical condition now for lack of coordination among the bodies,” he added.

Saying that the main problems of Dhaka city are water-logging and traffic congestions, Sayeed Khokan said local MPs should be involved in the formulation of Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for Dhaka city.

Housing and Public Works Minister Engr Mosharraf Hossain, Narayanganj City Corporation mayor Selina Hayat Ivy and Gazipur City Corporation acting mayor Asadur Rahman Kiron, among others, spoke at the inaugural session of the seminar held with Rajuk chairman GM Jainal Abedin Bhuiyan in the chair.