Mega city in mega problems

The development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs is deemed to be sustainable development. A sustainable city is one that utilises available resources to meet current needs while ensuring that adequate resources are available for future generations. It not only fulfills the material needs of citizens but also ensures quality environment. However, mega city Dhaka, which is bursting at seams, is far removed from a sustainable or planned city and so acute is the problem that the city already is unable to meet demands of its residents. Likewise, environmental condition of Dhaka is a matter of serious concern given that its population is particularly exposed to the combined effects of air and water pollution, problems of waste disposal, noise and congestion. Furthermore, these problems, compounding an increasing rate, are often accompanied by a lack of open space and greenery. These environmental problems exist, although they are a cause for variable degrees of concern, from acute and immediate to minor. As one of the world's fastest growing mega cities and one of the poorest, Dhaka is facing severe challenges sooner than most others. Its population, now estimated over 15 million, is expected to hit 20 million by 2015. Slums absorb 40 to 50 per cent of all Dhaka city dwellers and those continue to absorb new migrants, who arrive every year. According to a local daily, about 2,100 people migrate to Dhaka everyday. If the influx continues in such a pace, it would be the world's second-largest mega city (after Tokyo) by 2015. Dhaka city is beset with a number of problems such as, over urbanization, traffic congestion, water logging, solid waste disposal, black smoke from brick kilns and industrial emissions, sound pollution, pollution of water bodies by industrial discharge and the newly added calamity, building collapse. Water pollution is already rampant. The indiscriminate discharge of domestic sewage, industrial effluents and disposal of solid wastes are becoming a great concern from the point of water-quality degradation. Apart from this, the ground water level is going down fast threatening the city's water supply system. The impact of water shortage, pollution, wastes mismanagement fall most heavily on the poorest of Dhaka's bulging populace. The challenge of housing is a direct result of over-urbanisation and mass migration. The poor in particular search for housing that is cheap or live on the streets. The result is the creation of sprawling slums where people construct housing out of scrap materials. These slums are generally located in the areas where other people would not like to live in. Providing enough space per capita becomes an immense challenge, which has already led to horizontal expansion into adjacent land but still the problem remains. Again, in case of any fire accident in these thickly populated areas, hundreds of people might die. Slum dwellers lack access to some of the basic services that one should have. What is worse, their children do not have access to some basic rights, such as education, healthcare etc, as well. Unplanned and poor quality of construction may lead to disasters in the immediate future, given that most developers do not follow the building code and many buildings collapsed in the recent past. After spending millions of taka on apartments, the fate of the owners hang in the balance. In case of earthquakes, many buildings may tilt or collapse completely and this is why: retrofit measures are needed for the faulty buildings. But, unfortunately, the newly built buildings fall due to the lack of piling or proper soil profile analysis, but who will bell the cat? At times, it is difficult to identify which area is residential and which one is commercial due to lack of zoning. Much has been written about the severe traffic problem of Dhaka --- I. Unavailability of public transport. II. Numerous types of private transport. III. Inadequate percentage of roads. IV. Haphazard parking V. Obstructive pavements. VI. Road accident and pedestrian casualty. VII. Violation of traffic law, and the like. However, the mental and physical stress endured by city dwellers daily is beyond imagination. In the absence of an efficient public transportation system, people think of buying a car and now the banks are more generous in sanctioning car loan facility. In not too distant a future, most of the middle class families will own at least one car to choke the already congested roads. Moreover, frequent power cut along with gas crisis for households and industries alike has become a normal phenomenon in Dhaka which is a sign of deteriorating standard of living in the city. Dhaka has been termed as the second worst liveable city for couple of years in succession. In case of even a mild shower, many areas of the city get completely inundated and as such it becomes difficult for the drivers to navigate their automobiles due to the presence of pot holes and absence of manhole covers. If this is the scenario, one can easily understand the sufferings of pedestrians on a rainy day when they find no available transport or even any place to take shelter from the deluge. Most quarters of Dhaka city are so unplanned that there is little scope for creating any green space or enhancing the existing ones.. But the importance and necessity of green space is essential and one cannot do without it in too crowded a city like Dhaka. It can be difficult for the government to weigh the ultimate value of creating a park or conserving an open space. Benefits, however, are usually long term and may seem vague when compared to costs. People of different classes live in the mega city have different needs. Quite opposite scenario exists in the city where a tiny minority runs after opulence while the vast majority struggles to survive. Urbanisation and the pressure of poverty are severely stressing the city. Apparently, the middle and upper classes of the country permanently residing in the capital seem to be healthier and have access to better services than the villagers. However, this assumption distorts reality. A close look on the poorer quarters of the capital city reveals that the assumption is palpably untrue. In reality, urban poor can be much worse off than the rural poor. Authorities repeatedly have over time tried to give Dhaka a temporary face-lift. One such attempt was taken during ICC cricket World Cup 2011 that included amongst others --- freeing pavements, removing overhead cables, freeing the city from beggars, restricting unfit vehicles and the like. Within one or two months, the city returned to its original chaos. People of the country are much more likely to live in Dhaka than anywhere else. The city, after all, is the hub of industry, education and what not! One might cheer urbanisation as a sign of modernisation but a cursory inspection will show a different story. Day-by-day, our mega city is becoming mega mess and mega problems are going to plague the city. Despite the importance of economic growth, social wellbeing and sustainability of present and future generations, little attention has been paid to Dhaka resulting in concentration of most of the country's industrial base and factory jobs in and around the capital. The same is true for most of the country's universities and the government offices. It has become more imperative than ever to remove the build-up of the production hub from Dhaka that serves as a magnate for migration. Unless such steps are taken, Dhaka will become unliveable within the foreseeable future. The writer can be reached at Email: shafiqul0032@yahoo.com