They also called for transparency and accountability of policy implementing agencies, including government, non-government and donor organisations, towards the community beneficiaries.

The Department of Population Science, Dhaka University, in cooperation with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) organised the roundtable on 'Improving slum dwellers' lives: What options do we have?' at a city hotel.

Presenting a keynote paper, Prof Nazrul Islam said the number of urban dwellers worldwide will stand at 3.1 billion next year while the cities in developing countries will see a rapid growth of slums and squatter settlements.

According to official statistics, 37.9 percent of the country's urban population were found living under poverty line at slums and squatters in 2004, said Prof Nazrul, chairman of the Centre for Urban Studies (CUS).

At present, there are 12 million slum dwellers in the country, he said.

According to a CUS survey conducted in six city corporations last year, 55 percent of 9,048 slums are located in Dhaka while 20 percent in Chittagong.

One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to improve the lives of slum dwellers, but no successive governments have demonstrated any positive attitude towards them, he said, adding that only a Slum Development Department has been set up by Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) during the tenure of mayor Mohammad Hanif.

The department started functioning with nominal budgetary allocation and it has now become weak, he pointed out.

Poverty reduction, security of lives and property, physical improvement of slums, proper sanitation facilities, and electricity, gas and housing (space and durability) facilities are necessary to improve the quality of lives of slum dwellers, Prof Nazrul said.

Eviction of slum dwellers without their proper rehabilitation should be declared unlawful, he added.

Prof S Amin Islam said it is not possible to improve the lives of slum dwellers unless the political leaders are committed to it.

Prof Nurul Islam called for a national policy for the development of slum dwellers.

He also suggested establishing a Slum Development Bank modelled on Grameen Bank.

Prof MM Akash called on entrepreneurs to establish medium and small enterprises to create employment opportunities for slum dwellers.

Abdul Mannan, chairperson of Bastee Odhikar Surakkha Committee, blamed the policy makers for their lack of commitment to improving the lives of slum dwellers.

He also demanded education facilities for the slum children in urban areas.

Prof Ashraf Uddin Chowdhury, Prof Nashid Kamal, Prof Tasneem Arefa Siddiqui, Prof Nurul Ameen, assistant representative, UNFPA Bangladesh, Salma A Shafi, architect planner of CUS, and Mostafa Quiyum Khan, executive director of Coalition for the Urban Poor, also spoke at the roundtable moderated by Prof AKM Nurun Nabi.