Readers’ Voice

Accommodation Crisis in Dhaka

Every year millions of people rush to Dhaka city for their livelihood, in search of employment, for education purposes, and so on.

Due to rapid population growth and urbanization, the city faces a severe accommodation crisis for the masses.

Apart from important government offices, reputed educational institutions, Hospitals with proper facilities, international airport, everything is located in this city.

People are thus bound to come here for their various purposes.
Students who are studying at public and private Universities in Dhaka are some of the worst sufferers.

For a single room, they have to count at least five thousand to fifteen thousand takas to some extent for house rent.

It is barely possible for their families to carry on the expenses. At the University of Dhaka, students do not get any hall facilities in the first year.

Therefore, many of them prefer staying in the so-called ‘Gono Rooms’ where 30-40 students or even more than that share a single bathroom. In the case of private university students, the costs are more higher.

Even job holders working in different sectors find it challenging to accommodate themselves in the apartments.

The existing infrastructure is not adequate for the masses.

The house rent levels are so high that families are bound to share their apartments with different individuals.

In Bangladesh, 30 percent of its total population is living in urban areas, and by 2030 the rate of urbanization will be more than 40 percent. Dhaka needs to be decentralized as early as possible.

Important institutions and hospitals can be shifted from the city.

House rent levels should be reduced and proper housing should be ensured for all. It is our fundamental right as citizens.

For the overall economic development, people’s higher standard of living must be ensured by the concerned authority.

Sadman Islam Ayon
Student, University of Dhaka