Slum dwellers in cities deprived of drinking water
Informal workers living in slums are largely deprived of safe drinking water, healthcare and sanitary latrine, according to a new research on the urban poor.
The findings of the research titled “Informal Work and Wellbeing in Urban Areas” were disseminated on Sunday in a hotel of the capital. The study was conducted by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) of Sussex University, UK in collaboration with the Brac Institute of Governance & Development (BIGD), and ActionAid Bangladesh.
The study showed that working men and women in poor urban settlements across Bangladesh often fail to meet the wellbeing needs that they prioritise.
The research looked into 10 key areas of wellbeing, including drinking water, healthcare, toilet facility, access to dwelling, schooling for children, access to workplace, observing religious practice, ownership of dwelling, protection from work-related hazards, and safety and security.
Speaking at the programme, former adviser to a caretaker government M Hafizuddin Khan said all the government's plans, policies and strategies to reduce poverty were centred in rural areas.
There is no planning and effort to reduce poverty in urban areas and that is why the standard of living of slum dwellers is getting worse gradually, he added.
Salma A Shafi, honorary treasurer of Centre for Urban Studies (CUS), said the government is supposed to take the services to the urban poor as they have no place to go; but the state has not taken any initiatives yet.
She suggested including development plans for the urban poor in Dhaka city's master plan.
The survey for the study was conducted on 709 men and 755 women across seven slums in Dhaka, Chittagong and Bogra. The researchers have found that these people suffered more or less from the 10 key areas of wellbeing.
The dwellers of the urban slums are mostly involved in informal works and they get limited fundamental services from informal sources. Most of the times, they have to depend on slum owners for electricity, water supply and toilet facilities.
The study found that a lack of basic civic rights like drinking water, healthcare and sanitary latrine is one of the main obstacles to coming out of the vicious cycle of poverty.
The number of population in urban areas is increasing at a rate of 2.92 percent; so, it is time to seriously consider the growing deprived population in urban areas, the study emphasised.
ActionAid Country Director to Bangladesh Farah Kabir, IDS fellow Dolf te Lintelo were also present at the programme.
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