Dhaka second least liveable city

Bad planning to blame

According to The Economist Intelligence Unit's annual “Global Liveability Index 2018”, Dhaka has slipped two places from last year to become the second worst city to live in the world, only topping war-ravaged Damascus in Syria. The survey of 140 cities around the world is based on some 30 factors across five categories including stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. We have managed to get to this point because of Dhaka growing up in an unplanned manner, with terrible public transport, utility services, poor health services, drainage and water management. The gamut of all this is reflected in the scores themselves where Dhaka scored 38 out of a total of 100. We scored a measly 29.2 in healthcare and 26.8 in infrastructure.

With a tenth of the country's residents living in Dhaka, where the city's population is growing at three percent every year, urban planning needs to be done properly. The city's Detailed Area Plan (DAP) has been constantly violated, resulting in the filling up of water bodies to make room for real estate. Its residents have been left bereft of proper public transport system, schooling, healthcare and utility services. These have contributed to Dhaka's falling status in the liveability index.

The problems are well-known to us, since we suffer them every day, and the solutions can be devised by experts. We need to wake up to these realities because things cannot be allowed to go on like this. There is a need to develop urban centres on the peripheries of the capital city and that can come through better rail communication. If more city amenities were made available in Gazipur, Tongi, Narayanganj, etc. millions could come to work in Dhaka and leave in the evening. These are issues that need to be addressed at policy level.

• Courtesy: The Daily Star/ Editorial/Aug 16, 2018