Making Dhaka more liveable

A few days ago I met someone who had come to Bangladesh on a brief consultancy assignment. He had been in Dhaka for about a week and was on his way home the next day via Bangkok. I asked him about his impressions about our capital. The question came after his query about the historical past of the city and the current efforts by some institutions to celebrate its 400th anniversary. Being a European by origin, he hesitated at first and then asked me if I would mind some straight comments. I assured him that candour was not a virtue but nevertheless, was welcome as far as I was concerned.
He was forthright in his description of our city. I must admit that I had to agree with nearly everything he said.
He had lived throughout in a hotel, centrally located next to the BIRDEM Hospital. He had made only a few forays into various parts of the city and his experience from that point of view was rather limited. Despite that, his observations were spot-on and based on his also being a tourist.
The gentleman pointed out that Dhaka had still a long way to go before we could expect a rush of foreign visitors. The city, according to his was over-populated and had little in terms of facilities or points of historical interest.
A sightseer, he also pointed out, does not want to be harassed the moment he steps out of the hotel. He was referring in this context to the scores of beggars who pester pedestrians, particularly, anyone who looks like a foreigner at important cross-sections of the capital, even if they are inside cars (by banging on the windows). The presence of disabled panhandlers, standing in the rain, clutching malnourished children is not something that leaves a happy taste in the mouth for visitors. Instead, it evokes sympathy and a guilt complex among those going out for shopping. I could not but agree with him. The enjoyment of being in a new city, the desire to unravel its mystery, vanishes away.
He asked me why the police authorities and the city regulators allow this to go on. In this regard, he mentioned that he was horrified to see some beggars who should rightly be inside institutions receiving care, rather than being on street corners. He argued that everyone knew we were a poor country seeking to rebrand our image, but having beggars, a few hundred, out of a city population of more than 12 million was really killing our efforts. He also added that this reflected badly on the manner in which those responsible for social welfare were carrying out their responsibilities.
We then talked of lack of clean pavements for those who wanted to walk around, muddy water-logged streets filled with potholes, poorly lit areas, the overflowing garbage and sewage in most roads and the atrocious quality of the air (filled with exhaust fumes). He also indicated the absence of law and order. Apparently, one of his friends, a lady, had been mugged very near her five star hotel in Karwan Bazar and the passers by and the police personnel on duty had just stood and watched. Lastly, he referred to the atrocious traffic jams and how Dhaka lacked an efficient mass transit system.
I could not rebut his critical comments. It however set me thinking.
For the last few weeks we have had many seminars and workshops about re-branding Bangladesh. We have watched spontaneous enthusiasm in this regard specially from our non-resident and expatriate Bangladeshis. These sessions have stressed on the need for a positive construction and the need to rid our natural disaster prone country of some associated pathetic epithets -- poverty, corruption, lack of governance and accountability, political partisanship and absence of due process of law.
On the one hand we have these aspirations and on the other, hard reality. This is particularly galling when you compare it with the write-up and the spectacular photograph of our city and its skyline as available in the Wikipedia Encyclopaedia.
Yes, we are trying to improve the image of Dhaka. Those associated with the voluntary organization 'Dhaka bashi' are particularly involved. On a regular basis they celebrate and observe special cultural occasions associated with the Bangalee ethos. Most of us enjoy their colourful efforts -- be they related to kiteflying or observing the Eid festival. The media covers their processions with great ardour and highlights their (upper middle class) activities. For that brief day, they are able to bring a change into the dreary lives of Dhaka's citizens.
Unfortunately one swallow does not a summer make.
Time has really come to roll up our sleeves and take a more hands-on approach about improving the living conditions in our capital-city.
I seek the reader's indulgence by starting with the rivers that act as thoroughfares and surround the capital. Of them, the Buriganga has probably become the biggest open-sewerage in the world. The open discharge of effluents and toxic materials from different industrial units has resulted in the death of this river. It is now devoid of fish and stinks to high heaven. Even thirty years ago, many availed of leisurely boat rides in this river and enjoyed its serenity in the late afternoon. Today, that is impossible. The Hazaribagh area has in fact been identified as one of the 30 most polluted spots in our blue planet. There is a very simple reason for that -- the absence of a functional regulatory mechanism. Let us create it as soon as possible.
In addition, we need to improve the quality of life by reducing the brown-outs that regularly affect our daily lives. I can understand the inefficiency of past political governments in this regard, but what about our present sanitized Administration? They seem to have failed as well in resolving this issue. We are facing a crisis and there has really been no solution. Probably, we are caught up celebrating the 400th anniversary of Dhaka by replicating what the city was four centuries ago -- devoid of any reliable energy supply for each day and night. Can we not start thinking of using our own coal deposits to meet the growing energy demand? We need to act on this on an emergency basis because seventy per cent of our export oriented industries are located around Dhaka. There are also hundreds of educational institutions and medical clinics. All of them also suffer from this on a regular basis.
The city, due to extraordinary internal migration from the rural areas is also changing into a huge slum. It is estimated that nearly five million people now inhabit Dhaka without a safe piped water supply, without proper sanitation and public toilet facilities, without cheap healthcare outlets and without reliable habitation. Yes, any megapolis in Asia has slums, but our city fathers seem to have totally disregarded our latent difficulties. This shortcoming has been relegated in our priority list and the situation has further exacerbated because of lack of proper zoning requirements. This situation needs immediate attention and can be remedied given the correct political will.
We also need to spruce up our image by ridding the potential tourist sites of beggars and pushy vendors. For example, it is really a problem for anybody to visit the Curzon Hall, the Lalbagh Fort or the Sankhari Bazaar. The surrounding area, almost always, is filled with drug addicts and muggers. Law enforcement is negligible to say the least. Why should this happen?
Another aspect that needs attention is the quality of food served in roadside restaurants. As has been proved time and again, over the last few years, most restaurants provide stale and unhygienic items that induce illness and diarrhoea. Tourists normally rely on fast food which they consider as cheap and reliable. That is true in almost all the cities in our region other than in Dhaka. I fail to understand why health inspectors do not perform their jobs efficiently. It is probably due to petty corruption and lack of legal prosecution for damages against restaurants that provide adulterated or bad food.
The last facet is that of the absence of a proper mass transit system and the consequent traffic jams at all times. It is a sad commentary that even on this account, this Administration as well as the past political government failed to provide a functional response. Decision-makers have dithered over possible alternatives and nothing meaningful has emerged in the last seven years. It might be useful to consider dividing the week into odd and even numbered registration plate days. The last digit could then determine which days a motorised vehicle could be on the streets. That would have the number of vehicles on any given day and reduce traffic immediately.
Dhaka can still be salvaged for its residents. Let us take the first determined step in this regard right now.

Muhammad Zamir is a former Secretary and Ambassador and can be reached at [email protected]