DHAKA- A Humanitarian City

 

Each year Economist Intelligence Unit published global liveable index of cities around the world. In 2021 Dhaka ranked 137 in the index of liveable city index out of 140 cities across the globe. It means Dhaka is most unliveable cities among those cities. Most of the things that contribute to a decent liveability in a capital city may not have in Dhaka. But experts opined that in spite of having lack of many liveable things Dhaka is a humanitarian city.

Dhaka today is a megacity, a small town founded on a flat land on the north bank of the river Buriganga in 1608 and recognized as the capital of Subah Bengal in 1610. It is a more than four hundred years old city. At present, the population of this megacity of 306.36 square kilometers is about 20.15 million. More than 45,000 people live in per square kilometer. In addition, about five million people commute every day for various needs. As a capital Dhaka has risen and fallen several times. Even then the continuous progress of Dhaka could not be stopped. But it may not have happened the way it was supposed to.

The city of Dhaka have thousands of problems like: chaos in public transport, traffic jams, broken and narrow roads, lack of adequate footpaths for movement, air pollution, noise pollution, environmental pollution, lack of plants,  garbage, smoke, gas, electricity, water problems, dirty water, fires, accidents, countless wires with electric wires hanging overhead, price hike of essentials, adulterated food, lack of adequate open space or park for recreation, mosquito infestation, inadequate health care, lack of good educational institutions, murder, snatching, robbery, fraud, bribery, corruption, political deception, cunning, conspiracy, underworld, mafia gang, teen gang, beggars, lack of civic security, thousands of slums, millions of rickshaws, stress, etc.

Dhaka is the only largest city in Bangladesh. Dhaka is the heart of Bangladesh. A city of hope and despair for 170 million people of the country. People consider Dhaka as a place of wealth and danger. People look to Dhaka for politics, economy, social service, knowledge, culture, mass media, international communication etc. Yet most of the people of this country look at Dhaka with another eye of respect. Because, it was in this city that the Bengalis sacrificed their lives for the mother tongue in order to preserve their identity, this is where the first movement of the great liberation war took place.

Many famous poets, writers, Nobel laureate economists, famous artists, writers, athletes, filmmakers and politicians were born and raised in Dhaka. Dhaka is also famous for its mosques and very smooth muslin clothe. Many have written heartfelt poems, prose and history about Dhaka. There are many known and unknown stories of Dhaka. Their subject matter gives us joy as well as emotion and pain. Dhaka is a city of myth to us. Dhaka is a city of living history for us.

In the age of globalization, we see images of different cities in the world on television screens, video blogs and YouTube. It is possible to see many developed and underdeveloped cities there. Through Google Earth Map, we can also see pictures and street views of many cities on internet-enabled mobile phones and computers. We look at them and sigh.

Every year many talented boys and girls of our country go abroad to study in universities especially in developed countries. Many go on to do Masters or PhD with scholarships. Again, many people mortgage their land, took loan and go to developed or developing countries to earn more money. Some of them migrate to developed countries with their families to live permanently.

Many of them were fascinated by the shiny, wide roads, houses, buildings, shopping malls, improved communication and transportation system, traffic system, civic security of these countries and cried in their minds thinking about the situation of our country especially for Dhaka. Many may be thrilled to be free from this painful situation and to have the opportunity to live permanently in a safe country. But after a while, a kind of wailing does not work in them? Otherwise, why do they come in their own country of origin? Why do they become anxious about any problem in this country? Is it just pulling the ground or is there some other psychology behind it? Experts may be able to give a better explanation.

According to a BBC report, many well-known urban planners in our country do not agree with the ranking by various international organizations or newspapers. According to them, there might have lacks but in terms of the population of the cities in which these are compared is not the same as the population of Dhaka. If the population of any one area of Dhaka enter in any of those cities, then that is it the whole system of the city could collapse.

According to them, these cities may be very advanced in terms of infrastructure but not in terms of human development. Dhaka is a living city but those are not.

Many of them opined that Dhaka is a city of humanity. In this city people come from other cities and villages of the country in their happiness and sorrow? for the purpose of living, employment, good medical treatment, education, going abroad, business, trade, etc. This city give shelter the helpless people who lost everything in village or in other parts of the country. Dhaka gives shelter millions of working people, small footpath traders and millions of poor boys and girls who come from the countryside to work in garments and other factories for a low wage.

In this town, if a person becomes sick on the street or injured in an accident, many people come forward for help before coming the police. If there is a fire or any other accidents in any place in this city, the general public rushes to put it out or helping first. In the same way, the spontaneous participation of someone's danger has been proved many times. The Rana Plaza tragedy can be recalled in this case. Thus, in terms of humanity, Dhaka city is no less than any other city in the world.

However, it is true that the city of Dhaka could not be built-up as planned in terms of infrastructure. There are also political, bureaucratic and economic reasons behind this. However, in the last few years, many projects have been undertaken under the DAP planned by RAJUK to make Dhaka livable. Metrorail, elevated expressways, flyovers, construction of sidewalks and roads, renovation of parks and recreation centers etc.

Many more big projects may be taken up in the future. Because, Bangladesh has already proved that capability by building Padma Bridge. A new modern Dhaka centered on the Padma Bridge may be built in near future. Plans to build a new satellite city around present-day Dhaka have also been heard.

We are hopeful that our city authorities or government will be more responsible and focused on making this city livable. Maybe one day our favorite city Dhaka will be ranked one to ten in the international ranking of index of liveable cities.


Dr. Matiur Rahman is a Research Consultant, Human Development Research Centre (HDRC), Dhaka