Dhaka is now the world’s second most populous city. While the capital of Bangladesh is close to surpassing all other cities in terms of population, the opposite picture is true in terms of quality of life.
Citizen services, environment, health and safety — all indicators are at the bottom.
The daily life of city dwellers is becoming increasingly difficult and unsafe, with inadequate urban amenities, unplanned housing, unbearable traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and uncertainty about access to basic services.
Various plans and master plans have been adopted to develop Dhaka as a planned capital for a long time. But most of them have not been fruitful due to lack of proper implementation.
The long-standing unplanned and uncontrolled development, coupled with the Dhaka-centric trend of employment and services, has gradually pushed the city beyond livability. Planned urbanisation is essential to improve the quality of life in Dhaka.
The city’s housing, communication, sanitation, water, education, energy, and health, has been developed in an unplanned manner.
According to the report titled ‘World Urbanization Prospects 2025’ prepared by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Jakarta is now the most populous city in the world, followed by Dhaka.
Dhaka is experiencing high population growth due to its status as a centre of industrialisation, employment, education, medical care, and socio-cultural activities.
The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) itself has announced that 90 percent of the city’s buildings have been constructed in violation of rules.
This means that urban planning, building codes, land use policies, and safety standards are almost never followed properly. This clearly shows the weakness of RAJUK.
There is no study on whether existing buildings in Dhaka city are earthquake and fire resistant.
Although unofficially, it is said that 2.1 million buildings in the city are at high risk of earthquakes.
As a result, people are forced to live in mostly risky buildings. Besides, waste and industrial toxic substances are regularly dumped into rivers like Buriganga, Turag, Shitalakshya and Balur, threatening aquatic biodiversity and reducing clean water sources.
We suggest that all types of industries, educational offices, healthcare, and government offices should be established in divisional cities, districts, and upazilas, so that people can get work and services within their own areas. For this, the role of RAJUK is important.
The biggest complaint against this organisation is that nothing gets done here without bribery and corruption.
As a result, it is impossible to develop Dhaka as a planned city unless an independent and strong RAJUK, free from political bias and corruption, is built.
