Bangladeshi capital: urgent action needed

Thousands of people flock into the city every day in search of better education, better employment, better lives. The result, naturally, is an overcrowded metropolis characterised by heavy traffic congestion, pollution, environmental degradation and shortage of basic resources and facilities such as electricity, water and gas. For, despite its rapid growth, the city is not under any urban development strategy, resulting in unplanned and chaotic growth.

One way to tackle the problem, as suggested by experts, is the decentralisation of business facilities and the dispersal of opportunities. This is true of all basic and necessary facilities, however, including health and education. The establishment of quality primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions as well as medical facilities in other major cities and towns would prevent thousands of people migrating to the capital in search of better facilities.

The setting up of business opportunities away from the capital, too, would be a natural incentive for people to remain in their hometowns or in nearby areas to make a living. This should go hand in hand with realisation of the several city plans that have been designed by experts over time, which include mass transit systems, seen as a solution to the capital’s infamous traffic problem.

Urbanisation comes with economic growth, but without the systems and the facilities to meet the needs of the fast-growing urban population – a projected 100 million by 2030 – we will be continuing to grow in the restricted, capital-centric manner in which we are now, inhabiting even further one of the most unliveable cities in the world.

Traditionally, an overall plan for urbanisation has not received the focus it should have. It is high time to prioritise planned urban growth.