Dhaka’s traffic in a big mess

Traffic congestion in Dhaka has increased tremendously. Various surveys have shown that the average loss per day due to traffic jams is Rs 300-350 crore. In the last one decade, the average traffic speed of Dhaka has come down from 21 km / h to 5 km / h and experts say that this speed will go down further. The walking speed is more than this every hour.

It is known from various newspapers that the number of private cars is increasing in Dhaka. Although the number of private cars has increased by 65 percent, public transport has increased by only 2-3 percent. One and a half to two thousand private cars are being added every month. In developed countries where public transport is being given top priority, traffic picture in Dhaka is quite different.

The population of Dhaka is more than 20 million.  The densely populated Dhaka city is becoming increasingly uninhabitable and at the same time the city is losing its natural beauty and balance. Dhaka city seems to have become a state of pollution today due to congested environment, traffic jam and unplanned infrastructural construction.
People are flocking to Dhaka from all over the country for different purposes and are staying in this city necessarily or unnecessarily. Employees recruited from different parts of the country are eager to come to Dhaka and they do not hesitate to make various recommendations and lobbying for posting in Dhaka.

But the question is why everyone should come to Dhaka? If other cities of the country can be made suitable for education, business and employment, then the pressure of Dhaka city will definitely decrease. The headquarters of various government and non-government offices are located in Dhaka, so people from different parts of the country have to travel to Dhaka for office work, but if the offices could be diverted to different district cities or local cities the pressure on Dhaka would be less.

Everything in Bangladesh is now centred in the capital Dhaka and due to lack of decentralization, the pressure of people is increasing in the capital and the environment of the capital is being polluted.

The idea of the poor people in the village is that since they do not have much work in their own area, if they come to Dhaka they will get a job and from this idea they move to Dhaka.  Numerous shopping malls have sprung up in Dhaka city and people from all over the country flock to these shopping malls.  

The first census in the country was held  in 1974 after independence and then the population of Dhaka was only 16 lakhs but today in the golden jubilee year of independence of Bangladesh the population of Dhaka city has gone above two crores and the suffering has increased. The population of Dhaka is increasing every day and at the same time the suffering of the people is increasing.  

Unplanned expansion is taking place every day in Dhaka city and the government has taken various initiatives to make it livable, but the people are not getting much benefit from it rather, the city is facing severe traffic jams, air pollution, waterlogging, waste mismanagement and various other problems. Urban planners say that if Dhaka's population continues to grow in this way, the problem will not diminish, but will only get worse.

According to a survey by BBS and UNFPA in 2016, Dhaka is the 111th most populous city in the world, but if the population of Dhaka is calculated in terms of size, Dhaka is the most densely populated city in the world. It has a population of 43,500 people per square kilometer which is not found anywhere else in the world.  

Dhaka city has lost 85% of its wetlands in the last 50 years due to overpopulation. These wetlands have been filled with houses and various structures, resulting in waterlogging, traffic jams and excessive pollution.

According to a survey, the population of Dhaka in 2035 will be 3crore 50 lakh. The population of Dhaka city has increased by 1crore 52 lakhs in the last 40 years. Dhaka city needs 1 lakh 20 thousand houses every year due to the pressure of extra population but meeting that demand for the home becomes extremely difficult and arduous because the developers can only supply 25,000 houses each year.  

Due to overpopulation in Dhaka, natural canals and rivers are dying today. The condition of Buriganga and Turag rivers is deplorable. The number of new students is constantly increasing in Dhaka city and more than fifty private universities have been established in Dhaka city and a large number of English medium schools, 222 colleges and about 28 percent students of madrasas ( above 30 lakhs) are studying in the capital.
About one and a half thousand factories have been set up in Dhaka city and about 9 lakh vehicles ply on the roads of Dhaka city every day. In 1975, the number of slum dwellers in Dhaka was 2.75 lakh but day by day about 3500 slums have been formed in Dhaka and according to the 2015 slum census, there are about 10 lakh 62 thousand slum dwellers.

The population of Dhaka city is constantly increasing and they need houses and for this they need bricks. Numerous brick kilns have sprung up around Dhaka city and 58% of air pollution in Dhaka city comes from these brick kilns.

According to a statistic, Dhaka accumulates thirteen thousand tons of dust every month and the presence of maximum amount of lead in the dust on the streets of Dhaka has been noticed. According to a World Bank estimate, 5,000 tons of waste is generated daily in Dhaka from 7000 restaurants and about 24 lakh flats.

Due to the large population of Dhaka city, the level of crime is even higher here.  In order to make Dhaka livable, initiatives must be taken to reduce the pressure of people on Dhaka.  District cities need to build high quality healthcare, educational institutions, industries and employment opportunities.

In general, to make Dhaka a livable city, authorities need to move forward with a multi-pronged plan and of course reduce the pressure of the people in Dhaka.
Majhar Mannan, Assistant
Professor,  B A F Shaheen College Kurmitola, Dhaka Cantonment.