Dhaka cannot carry Bangladesh alone

During the long Eid holidays, Dhaka experienced a rare calm. The usual chaos, heavy traffic, constant honking and busy crowds disappeared as about 10 to 15 million people left the city and nearby areas to celebrate Eid at home.
Dhaka is often called the most crowded city, the traffic capital or the place where hours are lost in traffic jams. These names show what happens when so many people and ambitions gather in one place. Public services are stretched, housing costs soar and long commutes eat up hours of productivity. Air pollution and rising temperatures are now serious public health concerns. The city's infrastructure-roads, drainage, hospitals, schools and utilities-is stretched beyond its limits, leaving residents to feel the brunt of daily life.
However, Dhaka remains the centre of everything - bringing together power, business, education and ambition. The same concentration that makes Dhaka lively also causes many of its problems. Centralising everything in one place diverts resources from other regions and worsens the city's problems. To change this, we need to understand why everything is centred around Dhaka.
Dhaka's heavy centralisation is more than just a concern. It is the main barrier to progress. The problem is not that people are coming to Dhaka - it is that Bangladesh has built a development model where Dhaka carries too much of the national burden. The city's infrastructure and basic services cannot keep up with rapid population growth and excessive administrative focus. Bangladesh can only move forward by spreading growth and opportunities across the country.
Malaysia's official and royal capital is Kuala Lumpur, but its federal administrative centre is Putrajaya.
South Africa has three capital cities for the government branches: Pretoria is the administrative capital, housing the executive branch; Cape Town is the legislative capital, where Parliament sits; and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital, housing the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Even Pakistan separates its administrative, military and industrial functions into distinct cities across the country, with Islamabad serving as the political capital, Rawalpindi as the military headquarters and Karachi as the main industrial and financial hub.
In Bangladesh, Dhaka is the epicentre. Ministries, headquarters, universities, hospitals and cultural sites are all gathered here, which holds back growth in other areas. The centralised government system forces people to come to Dhaka for most official matters, making the city even more dominant. This pattern persists for both policy and habit.
Dhaka's dominance stems more from the system than from a lack of potential elsewhere. It is like watering only the tree named 'Dhaka' while planting seeds everywhere else, which leads to imbalance and urban problems. Ignoring other regions while focusing on Dhaka creates a cycle that holds back development nationwide.
The government is implementing a series of strategic initiatives to transform the wider North Bengal region into a major economic and aviation hub. While this is commendable, it does not address the root issue.
The real problem is our centralised system. When every decision, even the smallest, has to go through Dhaka? It creates additional delays, slows progress and reduces local control. Trying to restrict migration without addressing opportunity gaps is like trying to control a river without changing its course.
Both policymakers and citizens often see Dhaka as the place to succeed. Even when new campuses or offices open in other areas, people still look to Dhaka. To make progress, we need to change this way of thinking and see decentralisation as a chance, not a problem.
It is time to build a Greater Dhaka Region that spreads out power and opportunities. This bold idea addresses the main causes of Dhaka's problems and offers the country a path to balanced, sustainable growth.
Imagine Gazipur, Narayanganj, Tangail, Narsingdi and Manikganj becoming new centres of growth. Many successful countries have sidestepped the pitfalls of mega-city dependence by investing in networks of regional cities.
The Netherlands, for example, distributes economic activity across Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, while Malaysia has fostered growth in Penang and Johor Bahru alongside Kuala Lumpur. With careful planning, these towns could join together as a Greater Dhaka Region, like Greater London or Greater Tokyo. This is more than just moving things around; it is about creating a more sustainable future.
Making this vision real will take bold action.
The government's plan to create a commuter network using rail, bus and waterways to ease pressure on Dhaka is a good step. But real transformation requires bold, coordinated moves. Relocating major government offices-such as ministries, courts, or specialised agencies-to nearby towns would anchor new centres of gravity. For instance, the Ministry of Environment could be based in Gazipur, while judicial functions could be moved to Narshingdi.
We could create new economic centres. Gazipur already has many garment factories, but Tangail could focus on textile innovation, Narayanganj could become a major port and logistics centre, and Savar could lead in higher education and research. This would help spread opportunities more evenly across the region.
Empowering the local governments is also essential. When local leaders have real authority and resources, decisions about infrastructure and economic growth can be made on the ground, not in distant Dhaka. A unified city governance model, where elected representatives oversee coordinated urban management and service delivery, could help overcome the fragmentation and inefficiency that currently plague the capital. This shift would lighten Dhaka's load and spark growth elsewhere.

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