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BITTER TRUTH

Living in a concrete jungle

MD. ASADULLAH KHAN
OVER the last two decades the country has experienced phenomenal urban growth. With rapid growth compounded by high concentration of population, the capital city has now become an epitome of squalor, poverty and environmental abyss. In absence of clear cut policies,
shopping malls, hospitals, clinics, schools and even mini-factories and coaching centres have mushroomed in residential areas in total disregard for healthy living. Greedy people have even encroached upon the rivers Buriganga, Shitalakhya and Turag, the life lines of the two cities, Dhaka and Narayanganj.
The city of gardens has become a victim of neglect and policy myopia. Developer-built housing has gone apace, with little attention to creation of greenery and elimination of pollution, traffic congestion and drainage problems. In absence of such policy measures and objectives being pursued with vision in city planning that ensures quality of life, Dhaka city has turned into a city of concrete jungles
Four million people commute everyday, mostly by motorised transport, in an area of 150 sq miles. Dhaka city roads constitute less than 10% of the country's road network but carry 50% of the vehicular traffic. But bereft of any fast moving transport system like subways or mass transit, Dhaka till now is a harrowing labyrinth of narrow streets and alleys that make no geometrical sense in these days of technological innovation and fast movement. A survey conducted on vehicle movement, mostly cars and buses, revealed that the average speed of a car or a passenger bus was just 15 to 20 kmph. Moreover, with the onset of the rainy season, most of the roads, especially the peripheral roads, turn into canals or mini-ponds.
Dhaka City Corporation was divided into two parts to cater to the needs of the burgeoning population, but much to citizens' shock and disappointment, services rendered by this utility agency have fallen drastically. The pitiable condition of the roads, lanes and by-lanes of the different sectors of Uttara Model Town (!) beggars description.
With no elected mayor to look after the citizens' woes, the city has almost collapsed into a veritable mess. Ironically, despite the fact that a vast number of prominent citizens including parliament members, business tycoons, media personalities and retired bureaucrats live in this busding model town (!), the situation continues to deteriorate, with none to voice the sufferings of the citizens and take remedial measures. Even the parliament member from this area owes no responsibility or obligations to the people. Possibly, this happens when someone becomes a parliament member in a non-participatory election. And the city administrators know that they have to do some routine jobs with no obligation to the city dwellers
It is most shocking to note that city dwellers' approach to high ups in the Dhaka North City Corporation administration for road repair yielded no response. On the other hand, they were told that tax payers' money was not enough to meet the expenses of road repairs, not to speak of building new roads. So the poor city dwellers must suffer and hear the rhetoric of development without witnessing anything visible, even in a fast developing capital city. The problem of Dhaka city is neither the high density of population nor lack of resources, rather it is the failure of governance and lack of commitment of the personnel providing services to the city dwellers. Despite all the attractive features like cosmopolitan nature of the city, Dhaka feels like a mess. Because it has been made so by individuals trying to make a quick buck.
The writer Is a columnist of The Dally Star. E-mail: aukhandk@gmall.com