Old Dhaka business hubs in misery

A photo shows perennial traffic congestion in Old Dhaka. This important business hub of the country survives through hundreds of impediments that hamper business activities of the small and medium enterprises in the area.

In the early hours of the morning, dwellers of a dilapidated building slept peacefully, knowing little of their fate to come. It was June 10, 2004. A tragic collapse of the building claimed 18 lives and is still fresh in the memories of anyone who travels through the city's Shankhari Bazar area.
The building was among the 32 structures, built without architectural designs in Shankhari Bazar that Rajuk marked as being highly vulnerable.
Old Dhaka, an important business hub of the country, has survived hundreds of impediments that hamper the business activities of many thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). On one side the city celebrates its 400th founding anniversary and it is of great historical importance as it is one of the oldest cities in South Asia. On the other side, ensuring civic amenities is still a far cry and the problems stem from the fact that the city was built in an unplanned way, displaying the short sightedness of the policy makers. As the city rejoices its 400 years, the stark problems of the city now stares back into their faces.
Another discerning problem that this part of the city faces is the traffic congestion. Eating up the profitable working hours of the inhabitants of the city, the congestion has led to the loss of motivation and moving out of many businesses from the area. Building collapses, pitiful shape of the roads, water logging, haphazard location of structures, indiscriminate lining up the wires by different government and private agencies, big potholes on the roads, unplanned drainage and sewerage system, the list of problems is endless.
Old Dhaka has lost its traditional golden heritage of business. A typical sight of the once mesmerising city is its perennial traffic jams. The efforts of the inadequate traffic police deployed in old Dhaka go in vain as they have little to do in handling such entangled congestions.
Moulvi Bazar Babosayee Samity (MBBS) estimates that there are more than 5000 wholesale shops in Moulvi Bazar, Mokim Katara, Ali Hossain Khan Road and Begum Bazar alone. The total number of such enterprises would be hard to calculate, as the numbers are too massive.
The number of residents, shops and commuters has outpaced the capacity many years ago and the widths and lengths of such roads and thoroughfares could not be broadened due to scarcity of land.
Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) can hardly do anything to improve the situation, as shop owners, house owners, government and private offices have already occupied the land. The roads and streets were built years ago according to the demands of the then population of the city.
Spending only Tk 1 crore or a little more in the last 5 years was too little to improve the facilities of such an important business area, said Azizullah, commissioner of 67 Ward of the DCC.
The water logging in the rainy season is another permanent problem, but authorities have little to do with this problem due to fund crisis and bad shape of the age old infrastructures, he added.
Traders of different business organisations of old Dhaka complain of the goods laden vans and the queues of rickshaws and demanded a business conducive environment from the government to revive their businesses, as it is one of the most important trade hubs in the country.
“Nowadays, it is extremely difficult to make a business profitable in old Dhaka due to the mentioned impediments,” said an executive member of MBBS.
The overall trade flow of old Dhaka has plummeted tremendously as the wholesale buyers are losing interest to do business with the traders of old Dhaka due to transportation problems, traders said.
Much to the frustration of business in old Dhaka, the retail traders do not have easy access to old Dhaka and they instead move to alternatives like Mohammadpur Agriculture Market, Jatrabari Wholesale Market and Karwan Bazar Market.
However, the situation improved slightly when the road from Lalbagh to Bakshi Bazar was broadened by at least 10 feet, said MBBS President Abdur Razzaque.
“If the Nazimuddin Road in front of Central Jail on Chak Bazar could be broadened a bit, the communication problems could be solved to a great extent,” he added.
Traders of food items are shifting their businesses to other places aiming to be competitive.
Rickshaw-pullers and other light transport drivers take advantage of such problems and charge double the fares during the normal trading hours.
Wholesale markets are now mushrooming around the city and this is clear evidence that the importance of such old business hubs has been declining, said a wholesaler of stationery products at old Dhaka's Begum Bazar. Wholesalers can hardly deliver goods to customers on time, he said. But, old Dhaka is an essential place for life saving drugs and essential commodities including rice, pulse, edible oil and stationary items.
Having faced hurdles, many businessmen have already shifted their market places. “Now, I go to other market places instead of old Dhaka for buying stationary products, especially the cosmetic items,” said Shahadat Hossain, a retailer from Narsingdi.
Talking to The Daily Star, Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) Mayor Sadek Hossain Khoka said DCC repairs the roads and streets of any area under its jurisdiction, whenever anybody or any organisation complains.
"We need specific complaints about the bad shape of roads and streets," Khoka said.
"But, it is true that the streets of old Dhaka are narrow and those needed widening as old Dhaka is a business area," he said.
Although DCC counts old Dhaka as a prioritised business area, it is not possible to widen the roads of this particular area due to scarcity of land, he added.
When asked about the bad sewerage system of the area, Khoka said maintaining a normal sewerage system in any area of Dhaka is a task of Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA).

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