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Dense, dirty, dying Dhaka

Once lovable city now subjected to neglect

Pinaki Roy
Lying on a bed at the labour unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH). Rita Begum is indeed very happy and proud. She has become mother of an angel like baby girl. The child is now safe under her mother's observant eyes. But how will she grow up in a city of pollution, over population and traffic mismanagement?
Will this city be liveable by the time she herself becomes a mother? The answer is not unpredictable to urban researchers. Dhaka city, which was developed as an urban settlement centuries ago and turned into one of the fastest
growing mega metropolises in the world, may not be liveable, the researchers fear.
Once a city of gardens and mosques, which the rulers chose to make their capital. Dhaka is now gripped by a large base of increas-ingnumberof poor population.
Every year the city is expanding on an average ratio of 3.1 percent. But infrastructures and environmental protection are not developing in a sustainable way.
which makes the urban experts highly concerned.
"Within five years overall situation of the city would be in a very bad shape as the condition of environment is already very bad. The drainage system is worsening day by day and the government fails to introduce long-term transport system," said Prof Nazrul Islam, honorary chairman of Centre for Urban Studies.
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There is also not much hope in power, energy and water supply system as the government has yet to take any new initiatives to meet the ever-increasing demands.
The surface water has been polluted severely; quality of air in and around the city is already in a bad shape. Every year groundwater level is receding fast due to over extraction. Demand for water, electricity, and gas is increasing everyday.
Every month around 3,000 new vehicles hit the road contributing to increasing air pollution and severe traffic congestion. This is also badly hampering the average speed of the vehicles.
Different UN bodies have already projected in their reports last year that Dhaka is going to be the second most populated city by 2015, next to Tokyo, with a growth rate of urban population at 3.1 percent per year.
Now the city is struggling to deal with many issues including popu-. lation, infrastructure and environment management, traffic and transport management, social and utility services including electricity, gas, communications, water, health and education.
POPULATION
Since independence in 1971, population of Dhaka began to increase rapidly. In 1974 (no census
occurred in 1971 due to the Liberation War) the population was recorded about 1.77 lakh.
Today the population of Dhaka has exceeded 13 millions and is increasing at a rate of 3.1 percent every year.
According to available records, the population of Dhaka city was 68,038 in 1838 as recorded by Bishop Heber. On the other hand, James Rennel, an East India Company officer, mentioned it to be 51,636 in 1867.
Dhaka's position in terms of population in 2001 was eighth among the ten most densely popu -lated cities. It is projected to be the second with about 2.11 crore population in 2015, a UN body estimates.
Researchers believe migration contributes to at least 40 percent of Dhaka's population. Male population is much higher than female population -- now the male-female ratio is not less than 116:100.
POLLUTION
Water and air pollution has already become a very serious concern. Continuous media reports and pressures from the environmentalists forced the authorities to take some measures, which are not enough.
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) has recently published a research. It says rivers around the
city including the Buriganga, Tbrag, Balu and Tongi Khal are so polluted that no fish or other aquatic species can survive in their waters. ,
During monsoon, some fish and other aquatic species are seen there but they disappear again as soon as the floodwater recedes.
Indiscriminate discharging of industry waste, human excreta and household garbage led those rivers, canals, lakes and other water sources to severe pollution.
AIR POLLUTION
According to data from Air Quality Monitoring Project (AQMP), floating particles in city air both smaller (PM 2.5) and bigger (PM 10) are several times higher than the EPA (US Environment Protection Agency) standard.
Experts from the Department of Environment say faulty vehicles, especially diesel-run ones, brick kilns, dust from roads and construction sites and toxic fumes from industries are the main sources of PM 10 and PM 2.5.
TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT
Now the city has a hazardous, expensive and slow transport system. According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) sources, the city has only 7.9 percent road capacity against a standard 25 percent.
The traffic and environment problems are going to be more
chaotic in near future.
Sources in Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) say the total number of motorised vehicles in the city now stands at a staggering 1.05 million. These vehicles are crammed into some 220-kilometre road creating one of the highest traffic densities in the world. The sources add nearly three thousand new vehicles are now hitting the city every mo nth.
URBAN PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
The city is being extended outward more than planning. The authorities are neither prepared nor seriously concerned about preparations for future.
The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha is still waiting to implement the master plan of 1995 which was also made under the guidelines of the 1959 master plan
The administration and management style is so outdated and corrupt that more than 80 percent of city buildings were constructed without appropriate planning.
Experts say it is difficult to visualise how the authorities will mange a metropolis in future many folds bigger than what it is today May be the authorities will take pride in a few enclaves, flyovers, high rises. but the real problem' are likely to remain unresolved or untouched.