Life in the city
I don't blame anyone for taking my letter dated 21.09.08 personally, as I know some people will take it on themselves (personally) and some will probably not pay any attention at all as it is just another letter regarding Dhaka's nagging traffic congestion.
However one thing is for sure when some one or a group of people are blamed for the job they have not done, it's a typical Bangladeshi tendency that they will come up with thousands of excuses and it was no exception for some.
In a letter dated DS 10.10.08 with the above caption "Rickshaws and Dhaka", a senior citizen Mr Ahmed came up with a similar excuse and did put the blame on the then political situation and the governments for not building roads and not listening to the so-called elite citizens' advice. However, I would like to remind Mr. Ahmed that during the most controversial regime which was of H.M. Ershad's rule, Dhaka did get to see some roads which are now playing a major role in the city's communication. After that we had 15 years of internationally recognised democracy in the country but failed to find one major road constructed during this time, apart from a few overbridges on the rail tracks (I do not want to call them flyovers). Also I would like to highlight the fact that during the late 80's and early 90's, it was probably necessary for the government to centralize everything which is Dhaka based as the then Dhaka had all the infrastructure required and historically Dhaka has been the heart of this part of Bengal from the days of Shaesta Khan.
But the then democratic governments and the intellectuals/civic society failed (or were busy making money) to foresee the future Dhaka and simply had their hands folded and no initiatives were taken for the decentralization of the capital resulting in everything Dhaka based.
Today Dhaka has come to an almost standstill city in each and every aspect. The then children of the mid 80's and early 90's who are now parents go through nightmares every day while sending their children to school or going to work.
Though I am not an anti-rickshaw campaigner but I certainly will not go to Tongi in a rickshaw from Dhanmondi for the sake of eco-friendly nature of the tricycle, no way. Though in my previous letters, I mentioned the slow phase out of rickshaws due to its slow nature but now I feel the faster it's removed the better it will get as people will develop the habit of walking. I just would like to mention here that Dhaka is not all about Niketon, Gulshan and Banani.
No doubt, the motorized vehicles are one of the many reasons for the air pollution but it is not the only reason for the air pollution as we all know that the brickfields surrounding the city are the main reason for the air pollution.
Why there is no write up or seminar on the brickfields and the heavy industries within the city which keep changing the flow of carbon dioxide when the seasonal wind changes.
Just would like to mention one more thing here that Mr. Ahmed wrote in his letter regarding Kolkata where he said Kolkata has an efficient subway and taxis that do not refuse fares. I agree with him in today's context but did he not miss out that in the early 80s when Kolkata was constructing the underground rail what a mess the city was for 15 years? I remember when I first visited Kolkata as a small kid, I was scared to see thousands of people standing in the middle of the road to catch a bus and I did not see any traffic discipline at all and saw the taxi drivers refusing to go as they do in Dhaka today. But I still remember during those chaotic days I did not see any rickshaws on the major Kolkata streets.
To me the future of Dhaka seems rather dark as I have noticed that the so called private/government developers selling lands for houses are more or less like Niketon and have no provision for a walkway, so when these projects will be complete, the city will certainly have a population of more than 20 million and the present congestion of traffic will still be there, adding new dimensions to the problems.
There is no alternative other then to make new wide roads and whoever comes to power must put great emphasis on the Mega Transport Project.
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