Migration to mega city
Friday, 5 November 2010
Tithe Farhana
MILLIONS of people from all corners of Bangladesh are now marching to Dhaka, the new hub of their dreams and aspirations driven by the universal truth 'survival of the fittest.'
Dhaka, a 400-year-old city, possessing magnificent historic and political precedents, has now turned into a nucleus of the dreamland for millions of people. During the 60s, the city was adopted to provide accommodation to some 1.0 million people, currently it has been housing more than 15 million people - with a population density of 10,000 persons per sq km.
The new arrivals are pouring in at a rate of 0.5 million a year. Almost 4.5 per cent of the city population is slum dweller, majority of them are victims of poverty, even to the extent of abject poverty. Currently, the impacts of climate change have vastly persuaded the rural community to move to Dhaka. River erosion victims from Rangpur, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, as well as cyclone Aila and Sidr affected people from Barisal, Barguna, Patuakhali, Bagerhat and Satkhira are coming to Dhaka in droves in search of new home and a fresh start.
The forced migration frequently occurs for the untimely flood, cyclone, loss of land, river erosion and famine-like situation in rural areas. Most of the villagers exist below the poverty line. Agricultural backwardness, lack of proper primary education and joblessness are the major factors for the exodus from the rural areas. Earnings from farming in Bangladesh have declined during the last two decades due to poor agricultural subsidies and price protection.
Furthermore, farmlands of coastal districts taken under shrimp farming particularly in Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Barisal and Chittagong have, by and large, victimised the poor, while local powerful leaders and landlords are getting the benefits from these farm lands.
Recently, a report published by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reveals that inflation and price hike negatively impact the poor community and contributes to their inability even to procure rice in urban and rural areas.
The poor state of affair of the infrastructure development and socio-economic advancement at the district level has stalled overall development of the country. Even the construction of Jamuna Bridge failed to provide any boost to the southern districts to move forward socially and economically.
Though Bangladesh is regarded as a developing country, the rapid unplanned urbanisation and forced migration have turned it into a densely populated country. The urban population is increasing rapidly from 2.64 million to 22.45 million, the growth rate being consistently higher than the national population growth rate over the years. The urban poor in the Dhaka city is engaged in low paid jobs, most of the male workers eke out a living by engaging themselves as rickshaw-pullers, hawkers and vendors, construction labourers, others involve themselves in small businesses. While most of the migrant women are engaged in household works, service industry and the leading RMG sector.
The urban poverty scenario is getting complex day by day. The earning of the urban poor is generally insufficient and they mostly spend their money to fulfill their basic needs. According to research, the poor spend 60 per cent of their earnings on food items and the percentage is higher where female is the protagonist in the economic activities. Most of the poor who live in low cost housing spend a certain amount of their income on housing and accommodation. Similarly, they spend a small amount on their clothing, medicine and other fundamental needs.
Mainly, their daily menu consists of low quality, rice, potato, pulse and vegetables. Sometime they take fish, especially small fish, which may often be of bad quality, while they seldom buy meat or big fish as protein supplement.
Housing is an additional dilemma for the urban poor, they habitually live on vacant private or government lands, construct houses with low cost housing materials like tin, bamboo, straw and polythene sheets. Otherwise, they choose to live in the streets, railway stations, shopping malls and parks and form the bulk of the floating population.
The urban poor reside in crowded slums. Many individuals live in inhuman conditions in single room accommodations. Most of the householders have no cooking, sanitary and other utility facilities.
Illiteracy, lack of awareness of health, hygiene and nutrition contribute to the poor health condition of the urban poor. Almost all are suffering from various kinds of diseases. Due to poverty the poor can hardly think about amusement of the sort available to the elite.
Crime and violence has become a major dilemma in Dhaka and the poverty-stricken community shoulders most of the blame. It has also added gigantic costs to the city in terms of the judicial system, health care, foregone earnings, costs on private security, loss of competitiveness, loss of jobs and productivity. The non-monetary costs on the population are also considerable in terms of levels of fear, mistrust, anxiety, and lack of social cohesion.
Among the most frequently reported incidence of crime and violence in the city are toll collection, mastaan-induced violence, narcotic drug and alcohol trade, land grabbing, gambling, violence against women and children, illegal arms running, arson, murder, kidnapping, and domestic violence.
Most of the crimes occur within the slum areas and about 35 per cent within the household compound. Other high-risk areas are roads, markets, and the streets. Brutality against women, particularly domestic violence, is very high and mostly go unreported. There appears to be a deep lack of trust of the urban poor in the justice system and police force. Residents in the slums do not believe the justice system adequately serves their needs. In fact, some perceive that the system discriminates against slum dwellers.
However, the problems of poverty in Dhaka are mammoth and thus any poverty reduction strategy for the city will entail foremost policy shifts on many fronts.
The city urgently needs strong administration and supervision authority, better coordination among agencies, NGOs and government departments, effective and transparent local government, improvement in infrastructure, better access to basic services and stemming crime and violence.
Prioritising the long list of pressing needs and identifying viable mechanisms for accomplishment presents a daunting challenge. This will require coordinated actions from stakeholders, but more significantly, strong political commitment is essential for addressing the problems of the poor in the mega city of Dhaka.
E-mail : tithefarhana@gmail.com
MILLIONS of people from all corners of Bangladesh are now marching to Dhaka, the new hub of their dreams and aspirations driven by the universal truth 'survival of the fittest.'
Dhaka, a 400-year-old city, possessing magnificent historic and political precedents, has now turned into a nucleus of the dreamland for millions of people. During the 60s, the city was adopted to provide accommodation to some 1.0 million people, currently it has been housing more than 15 million people - with a population density of 10,000 persons per sq km.
The new arrivals are pouring in at a rate of 0.5 million a year. Almost 4.5 per cent of the city population is slum dweller, majority of them are victims of poverty, even to the extent of abject poverty. Currently, the impacts of climate change have vastly persuaded the rural community to move to Dhaka. River erosion victims from Rangpur, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, as well as cyclone Aila and Sidr affected people from Barisal, Barguna, Patuakhali, Bagerhat and Satkhira are coming to Dhaka in droves in search of new home and a fresh start.
The forced migration frequently occurs for the untimely flood, cyclone, loss of land, river erosion and famine-like situation in rural areas. Most of the villagers exist below the poverty line. Agricultural backwardness, lack of proper primary education and joblessness are the major factors for the exodus from the rural areas. Earnings from farming in Bangladesh have declined during the last two decades due to poor agricultural subsidies and price protection.
Furthermore, farmlands of coastal districts taken under shrimp farming particularly in Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Barisal and Chittagong have, by and large, victimised the poor, while local powerful leaders and landlords are getting the benefits from these farm lands.
Recently, a report published by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reveals that inflation and price hike negatively impact the poor community and contributes to their inability even to procure rice in urban and rural areas.
The poor state of affair of the infrastructure development and socio-economic advancement at the district level has stalled overall development of the country. Even the construction of Jamuna Bridge failed to provide any boost to the southern districts to move forward socially and economically.
Though Bangladesh is regarded as a developing country, the rapid unplanned urbanisation and forced migration have turned it into a densely populated country. The urban population is increasing rapidly from 2.64 million to 22.45 million, the growth rate being consistently higher than the national population growth rate over the years. The urban poor in the Dhaka city is engaged in low paid jobs, most of the male workers eke out a living by engaging themselves as rickshaw-pullers, hawkers and vendors, construction labourers, others involve themselves in small businesses. While most of the migrant women are engaged in household works, service industry and the leading RMG sector.
The urban poverty scenario is getting complex day by day. The earning of the urban poor is generally insufficient and they mostly spend their money to fulfill their basic needs. According to research, the poor spend 60 per cent of their earnings on food items and the percentage is higher where female is the protagonist in the economic activities. Most of the poor who live in low cost housing spend a certain amount of their income on housing and accommodation. Similarly, they spend a small amount on their clothing, medicine and other fundamental needs.
Mainly, their daily menu consists of low quality, rice, potato, pulse and vegetables. Sometime they take fish, especially small fish, which may often be of bad quality, while they seldom buy meat or big fish as protein supplement.
Housing is an additional dilemma for the urban poor, they habitually live on vacant private or government lands, construct houses with low cost housing materials like tin, bamboo, straw and polythene sheets. Otherwise, they choose to live in the streets, railway stations, shopping malls and parks and form the bulk of the floating population.
The urban poor reside in crowded slums. Many individuals live in inhuman conditions in single room accommodations. Most of the householders have no cooking, sanitary and other utility facilities.
Illiteracy, lack of awareness of health, hygiene and nutrition contribute to the poor health condition of the urban poor. Almost all are suffering from various kinds of diseases. Due to poverty the poor can hardly think about amusement of the sort available to the elite.
Crime and violence has become a major dilemma in Dhaka and the poverty-stricken community shoulders most of the blame. It has also added gigantic costs to the city in terms of the judicial system, health care, foregone earnings, costs on private security, loss of competitiveness, loss of jobs and productivity. The non-monetary costs on the population are also considerable in terms of levels of fear, mistrust, anxiety, and lack of social cohesion.
Among the most frequently reported incidence of crime and violence in the city are toll collection, mastaan-induced violence, narcotic drug and alcohol trade, land grabbing, gambling, violence against women and children, illegal arms running, arson, murder, kidnapping, and domestic violence.
Most of the crimes occur within the slum areas and about 35 per cent within the household compound. Other high-risk areas are roads, markets, and the streets. Brutality against women, particularly domestic violence, is very high and mostly go unreported. There appears to be a deep lack of trust of the urban poor in the justice system and police force. Residents in the slums do not believe the justice system adequately serves their needs. In fact, some perceive that the system discriminates against slum dwellers.
However, the problems of poverty in Dhaka are mammoth and thus any poverty reduction strategy for the city will entail foremost policy shifts on many fronts.
The city urgently needs strong administration and supervision authority, better coordination among agencies, NGOs and government departments, effective and transparent local government, improvement in infrastructure, better access to basic services and stemming crime and violence.
Prioritising the long list of pressing needs and identifying viable mechanisms for accomplishment presents a daunting challenge. This will require coordinated actions from stakeholders, but more significantly, strong political commitment is essential for addressing the problems of the poor in the mega city of Dhaka.
E-mail : tithefarhana@gmail.com