Major city as hub of service sector
HUNDREDS of garment workers walking on the main road is no doubt a reason for the horrendous traffic congestion during the peak hours in the capital. Often times they are also victims of road accidents. In developed countries, the major cities serve as the hub of the service sector; industrial sector is located in the outskirts or even far away from the major cities. This is because the industrial sector requires a huge amount of resources such as land, water, transport and even human resource. Having industrial areas in the major cities puts unnecessary pressure on the land and on the demand of transportation facilities and other facilities. Dhaka is a densely populated and horribly congested city. One of the main reasons is because of the many factories located in the city, which are employing a large amount of people. This is putting pressure on the land and also on the transportation facilities. What is of more concern is that many of these factories and warehouses are located in residential areas such as in Old Dhaka. Through the 'Nimtoli' tragedy it is already known to the nation of how dangerous and devastating it is to locate factories or warehouses in residential areas. For their own financial interest the factory and warehouse owners should relocate their factories and warehouses outside the capital and other major cities as they will be able to rent space at a much lower rate which will help to lower their production cost. In addition, this will also lower the demand on the transportation system which will help to reduce traffic congestion and road accidents. It will also prevent tragedies such as the Nimtoli tragedy from happening again in the future. Furthermore, it will improve the safety standard in the city and the quality of life of the city residents and most importantly relieve Dhaka from the stigma of being the worst city to live in on the planet.
The writer is a transportation engineer in Thailand.
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