Making Dhaka worth living

Dhaka is again in the bottom layer of the global index of liveable cities. The well revered Economist Intelligence Unit in its annual survey has ranked Dhaka at one but last position in a survey of 140 cities around the world. A small piece of relief is that there has been a slight improvement as Dhaka was  the least liveable city in their survey last year and that this year, Syrian capital Damascus has been put in that place. This does not merit being any drum beating success as it is well known that Damascus, which was once known for flowers and fragrance, is now domed in smell of gunpowder and municipal stinks due to a civil war for several years.

The London-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) considers stability, health care, culture and environment and infrastructure for their liveability index. Unfortunately, Dhaka has always been in the lowest tier for the last five years. This alone indicates that there has not been any improvement, at least in the context of the parameters for the index.

It is undeniable that managing a holistic liveability index for a city like Dhaka would be a herculean task. Dhaka, grappling with a population of over 17 million, is one of the fastest growing cities on earth. The household waste generated every day is about 4000 tonnes of which only 40-45 per cent are collected by the municipal authorities. The rest are littered around at free will. Besides, there is a huge volume of industrial waste, most of which are dumped in to the rivers and water bodies in and around the city. All these are obviously not only creating undesirable nuisance but breeding enormous potentials for health hazards. It is not only the lack of capacity of the municipal authorities to manage the waste but also the dearth of civic sense and education of much of the city dwellers.

However, bigger threat for living comfort in Dhaka stems from the notorious traffic circulation and ever expanding slums and shanties. These are the most visible fallout of over population as well as incongruent planning.  Dhaka has long succumbed to its carrying capacity in terms of infrastructure, sanitation, mobility, health and so forth.

The two new Mayors have onerous tasks to make Dhaka worth living. They have embarked upon some activities to ensure renaissance of beauty of this once adorned city. While the beautification efforts with make-up touches are welcome, they need to dig deep to plug the holes on different crying aspects like waste management, sewerage, mobility and slum rehabilitation. Any delay or negligence can deter the city from gaining living worthiness.

The EIU survey report may not drill our thoughts in planning and running the city affairs but it can duly have the impacts on various potentialities for the country. The EIU findings can influence global business leaders while planning investments in this country. If the situation does not improve, there can be a dent in the flow of FDI in to the country. The report can stir a rethinking among the tourists trying to explore this land and this is important because Bangladesh has planned to focus tourism in 2016. Above all, the liveability index has to show improvement as we are now weaving thoughts and plans to become a middle income country.

(The writer is a CSR consultant & broadcaster.

 mohicsr@gmail.com)