Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka, is the beating heart of its administrative, commercial, and cultural life. While this has resulted in the city undergoing unprecedented rapid development in a short period of time, it has also paved the way to declining quality of life for the average citizen -- and there is no better marker of that than the city’s near monstrous, ever-present levels of traffic.
Yesterday, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police had advised commuters to take alternative routes and allow extra travel time, as HSC, equivalent, and BCS exams had been held. While just recently, citizens witnessed a major intersection of the capital being occupied by protesters resulting in a majority of Dhaka being brought to its knees.
When a single rally can bring half the city to a standstill, we must ask: Is this sustainable?
The long-term solution to Dhaka’s preposterous traffic lies not in traffic advisories or temporary diversions, but in a radical re-thinking of our urban and economic geography. Bangladesh must prioritize decentralization, moving key institutions, industries, and services beyond Dhaka’s borders. Focusing primarily on administrative decentralization, economic decentralization, and educational decentralization as primary points.
Indeed, shifting much of the economic and administrative operations away from Dhaka stands to not only greatly improve quality of life in the capital city but it would go a long way towards ensuring the equitable development of the rest of the nation as well. After all, why should access to opportunity be dictated by proximity to Dhaka? In the same vein, why should the quality of life for millions hinge on the whims of issues such as traffic congestion?
Dhaka’s traffic woes are symptomatic of deeper systemic failures. To undo this, we need a national urban strategy that prioritizes liveability and sustainability -- that means investing in public transport, enforcing zoning laws, and creating satellite towns with real economic viability.
Until then, every rally, every festival, and every exam day will be a reminder of how far we are from a truly inclusive and functional urban future.