Tayub Chowdhury, Chittagong : Government officials are usually welcomed with flowers. In Chattogram, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mian reversed the roles.

He arrived at the Chattogram District Sports Association (CJKS) Shopping Complex on Tuesday carrying flowers and crests for traders who had helped clear an estimated 200 to 250 truckloads of waste accumulated there over more than a decade.

"The district administration does not only receive flowers; it gives flowers too," said Zahid, who is also president of the CJKS.

Located beside the MA Aziz Stadium in Kazir Dewri, the shopping complex had been blighted by piles of household and construction waste for years. Traders said the waste had accumulated over 12 to 13 years.

Besides creating an eyesore and foul smell, the dump obstructed movement and posed health and fire hazards.

Zahid said some of the discarded materials were flammable and a fire could have put both the shopping complex and the adjacent stadium at risk.

The district administration has been carrying out cleanliness and beautification drives across Chattogram under the slogan, "Clean our towns and villages, build an aesthetic Chattogram."

The campaign was intensified amid the dengue outbreak. According to the DC, cleanliness drives were carried out at around 2,000 mosques, while special programmes were undertaken in Sitakunda, identified as a dengue hotspot, and later in Karnaphuli.

The waste dump at the CJKS Shopping Complex subsequently came under focus.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the CJKS ad hoc committee on September 28. Responding to the administration`s call, the shop owners and traders` association began clearing the site.

Within days, the waste accumulated over more than a decade was removed.

Kamal Hossain, general secretary of the shop owners` association, said the new committee had already been planning to clean up the area and moved ahead after receiving support from the district administration.

What he did not expect was the DC turning up with flowers.

"I never imagined the DC himself would come and thank us with flowers. His recognition has encouraged us," Kamal said.

Association President Muklesur Rahman said the traders had undertaken the cleanup without expecting anything in return.

"We did it for the public good. The recognition from the DC is a great reward for us," he said.

CJKS Member Secretary Mohammad Salauddin also described the gesture as unusual.

"Normally, officials are welcomed with flowers. This time, the DC came to present flowers to those who did the work. I have never seen anything like this before," he said.

Zahid said administrative directives alone could not transform a city and that citizens also needed to take responsibility for their surroundings.

Removing 200 to 250 truckloads of waste from the heart of the city was no small task, he said.

"The flowers may be a small gesture, but my respect for them is much greater. I came here to express that respect."

The cleanup would remain a memorable experience in his public service career, he added.

"Some things we do during our careers stay with us. Removing 200 to 250 truckloads of waste that had accumulated for 12 years beside the stadium and shopping complex is something I believe I will remember."

The administration now plans to turn the cleared site into a garden, with seating and drinking water facilities.

CCTV cameras will also be installed to prevent the area from becoming a dumping ground again. Anyone found illegally dumping waste will be identified from the footage and face legal action, Zahid said.

"There will be no compromise on this."

For more than a decade, the site beside the stadium was buried under waste. Within days, the traders helped clear it, and plans are now underway to turn it into a garden.

This time, the flowers went not to the official, but from him -- to those who did the work.