At death some people are mourned because mortality is a great leveller and those alive feel an obligation to reconcile with this universal fact. Here is an unavoidable fact people recognise from a sense of identification with every death they come across. Therefore the feeling is that with every death we diminish. But then there are people who send the message loud and clear that with their death, society and even the entire world diminishes more than its due. Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), Annusul Huq was one such person whose untimely demise left society poorer indeed. His death is mourned by the people in a manner far beyond the customary expression of grief.
Why? What was special about him that the outpouring of genuine sadness and sympathy has been so spontaneous? It is all because he was a dream merchant. His magic wand turned everything he touched with it into gold. Yes his was an optimism contagious enough to prompt others to share his vision, his dream and the indomitable spirit to translate it into reality. From a humble beginning, Annisul Huq rose to fame through sheer determination to chase his dream. From a popular media personality, he became a successful entrepreneur and business leader to grace the top position of the country's apex trade body. His next assignment was that of mayoral and during his brief stint with this position, he made a mark of his own. Credit goes to him for distinguishing himself in his role as a mayor to advance the cause of people who elected him.
The rapport he built with his audience as a media personality made him a people's man. A person of many talents, Huq was supremely confident of his own ability. This confident was perhaps derived from his belief in human quality. Believing in people is not possible unless one shares the conviction in the Latin aphorism, "Vox Populi, Vox Dei" (The voice of the people is the voice of God). As the DNCC mayor, Huq made it his mission to serve the inhabitants of Dhaka, a city that has earned many infamous epithets.
His works speak volumes for the mayor. The eviction of the truck stand is a monumental success if considered in today's political contexts. People derive its benefits in large measures. Credit also goes to him for clearing the roads starting from Gabyoli to Kalyanpur where long-route buses were parked, creating a mess all along. Then the U-loop programme he undertook to complete on the Airport Road from Tongi Bridge to Mohakhali Flyover is a proof that he thought out of the box in order to solve as many problems as he could within the given limitation.
Again, another nice programme he thought of is the introduction of new buses and amalgamating bus companies into six or so operators in the city. The purpose was to streamline metro bus service so that the route distributions were rationalised. Overlapping of routes could thus be avoided as well. It was under process but sadly with his sudden illness, the programme has been stalled. Whether it will be revived at all is uncertain now.
A man of ideas and action, Annisul Huq could surely make a difference in the existing chaos that now reigns supreme in the capital city. His untimely death has brought an end to such programmes. But if the love and respect people have shown to the man is any guide, they should demand that the unfinished task left by him should be completed. This would be the most fitting tribute to the man who believed in the service to the people. A creative man Annisul Huq deserves to be alive in what he has done for family, friends and society. It is now the duty of everyone in the mayoral office or outside in this city to let his good work continue and his memory live long.