Editorial
Government's resolve reassuring
But do something fast about Dhaka
WE take heart from what the PM articulated while expressing her government's determination not to allow any further housing projects that do not meet the new criteria set up in this regard. And it is about time too. It need hardly be emphasised that Dhaka city is reeling under the pressure of not only unplanned housing but also lack of other facilities and amenities that a capital should provide.
There is no doubt that Dhaka has been turned into concrete jungle in the last three decades. The natural catchment areas of the city have been filled up to make room for new buildings, but not even the minimum breathing space required for the people of the locality has been catered for. Power of money, of some of the realtors, and greed, of some of the officials, have colluded to transform what was once a placid and beautiful metropolis into very nearly an unlivable place. That is why, after every light shower during the rainy season, life in the capital comes to a grinding halt.
It is very good to know that the government will not allow any future housing projects that do not provide for playground and preserve the natural water bodies in the locality, and that it plans to break up the city into zones and build satellite towns to reduce pressure on the capital. Whilst all these are splendid ideas these will also take some time to consummate. But what Dhaka needs in the short or immediate term would have to be taken up first. Thus it necessitates formulation and implementation of plans to address the woes of the Dhaka city dwellers by improving the standard of the civic amenities in the capital on an urgent basis.
That is why, pending the concretisation of the ideas that the PM had articulated during her address to the participants of a 2-day seminar organised by BAPA and Bangladesh Environmental Network, we feel that the government should urgently address the issue of traffic congestion of Dhaka city. In fact it would be extremely helpful if arrangements were made to build a few flyovers at major bottlenecks in the city on an urgent basis, as has been planned for Chittagong. It would also be helpful if arrangements for car parking, in the vicinity of major shopping centres, could be made immediately to spare the people the sufferings caused by traffic jam, and any other actions that would make the life of road users less difficult.
While the government should undertake newer plans to bring the capital at par with other metropolises in the region, immediate measures should be taken up to address the problems of city dwellers.
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