The pressure Dhaka city is under

DHAKA is increasingly turning into a rather uninhabitable city. That is the bottom line in a report carried by a leading daily in the country. We have no reason to disagree with such a finding, especially against the background of the recent incidents of building collapse and fires in different parts of the capital. There is little question that Dhaka has always been an unplanned city. But what is mind-boggling is the rapidity with which it has in the past three decades or so mutated into a symbol of chaos and confusion. The mere fact that a few minutes of rainfall leave entire areas of the city water-logged speaks of the myriad problems which now the city is confronted with. The bigger reality is that the relevant urban development authorities have little clue as to where all this will push the city in the short term as well as the long-term future.
There are the statistics which point to what one could call an apocalyptic vision of Dhaka as it might be. Where the Detail Area Plan (DAP) outlined by Rajuk speaks of providing living space for no more than 250 persons per acre in the city, the actual numbers are considerably higher. Old Dhaka holds per acre between 350 and 400 people, which alone explains the pressure the city is under. If you take the various slums into consideration, matters look even worse: every slum holds no fewer than 1,000 persons on an acre of land. In essence, Dhaka has been experiencing an influx of people annually to the tune of 700,000 per year. That means an addition of 6 per cent to the existing population every year. If such a trend continues, in the next couple of decades the population of the city will leap to a staggering 20,000,000 to 25,000,000 from the approximately 10,000,000 at present. Such a scenario certainly holds up images of a nightmare. Given that already Dhaka is weighed down with intractable problems, one cannot quite fathom what shape it will assume in the coming years --- unless of course drastic measures are taken to make the city habitable again.
The time is therefore here and now for serious and informed thought to be given to Dhaka's future. Even as we plan celebrating the 400th anniversary of the city, we cannot ignore the realities around us. Parks have been disappearing under a no-holds-barred process of urbanization. Residential areas have been turning into congested commercial regions. There has hardly been any increase in the number of roads in the past twenty years, save for a few flyovers and underground pathways. All of this calls for plans geared toward a major overhaul of the capital. The most essential requirement is a dispersal of the population as a way of reducing the load on existing urban centres. Briefly, the endless influx of people into the city needs to be curbed, a task dependent on the development of a speedy and efficient transport system to enable professionals to commute to and from the city easily from the suburbs and beyond. Such modes of transport as circular railways and waterways as well as underground railways must be given immediate and undiluted consideration.
Cities have historically been symbols of growth and renewal. They have, when left uncared for, turned into emblems of decadence. Our choice is clear.