Eid holidays

All these happen because a huge number of people go back to their village homes, leaving the city in a state of relative tranquillity. But is it an unmixed blessing?

We need to dig a little deeper into the issue. The exodus during Eid holidays is an indicator of the fact that many people live in the city, but have failed to settle down here. And it is not clear whether the process can be called urbanisation at all, as around 50 per cent of the population still live in slums or places equally bad in terms of civic amenities. They struggle to stay afloat in an urban setting, not designed to cater to the needs of such a big population.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

The poor and lower middle class people have their roots in villages and they rush back home whenever an opportunity presents itself. They celebrate Eid with their near and dear ones, which is how their ancestors celebrated the occasion. From the standpoint of family values, it is great, but from the standpoint of stable and steady urbanisation with fulfilment of citizens' needs, it is not quite so.

The matter should provide food for thought to city planners and economists dealing with such intricate problems like unplanned urbanisation and the resultant complications. They must also work out ways and means of diverting the flow of urbanisation to different places, instead of the city alone. It is now obvious that nearly five million people live in the city, the epi-centre of urbanisation, without becoming its residents in the true sense, as they don't have access to the bare minimum civic facilities. That is surely not how we can develop Dhaka into a modern metropolis.