Our capital Dhaka is one of the most densely populated and polluted cities in the world, while citizens also suffer tremendously due to horrible traffic jams. Not to mention the lack of safety and security being another major concern for those who live here, as service providers -- for basic necessities such as water, sanitation, sewage and waste management, gas, infrastructure, transportation, etc -- have failed to do their jobs.
All of this has led to Dhaka being absolutely unlivable for the majority of its denizens.
The air in Dhaka is polluted, as outdoor air pollution is caused by motorized transport, brickfields, and dust from scattershot urban development. However, a significant number of brickfields surrounding the capital contribute to the majority of our air pollution. The government had enacted the Brick Manufacturing and Kiln Establishment (Control) Act 2013 (amendment 2019) with the aim of reducing air pollution from brickfields, while the Air Pollution Control Rules 2022 is in line for effective implementation, but they have hardly had any effect in curbing pollution levels. Indeed, dust and particulate matter from urban development can be reduced with proper preventive measures and coordination among concerned agencies, but we have seen next to no actions to that end.
All these sources of air pollution lead to serious illnesses and increase the health care costs for families, which hits those living near the poverty line the hardest.
Dhaka is also one of the noisiest cities in the world. The sound level is intolerable even in noise-sensitive areas such as residential and hospital zones due to hydraulic and high-volume car horns, which are supposedly banned. Noise from construction work can also be heard practically everywhere. We have laws which are meant to combat this issue, but the Sound Pollution (Control) Rules 2006 has been absolutely ineffective to that end.
Water bodies such as canals, lakes, and rivers are polluted by sewage and bad water from the city’s drainage systems, not to mention discarded plastics. The surfaces of our water bodies are blocked by polythene and plastics, obstructing ground water harvesting. Despite several attempts to control the use of plastic bags, none of them have (you guessed it) resulted in any meaningful change. On another note, due to the severe lack of open spaces and parks in Dhaka, ground water harvesting is severely impacted as groundwater is depleting by more than 70 metres, which is already severely dire. Therefore, surface water bodies (rivers and canals) are not usable. As a result, Dhaka WASA collects water from distant sources that increases costs.
The Environmental Law 1995 and the Water Act 2013 are also relevant for preventing water pollution. The Water Act ensures that access to water from surface, ground, sea, rain, and the atmosphere is a right of the people. It is important to analyze how this right is being violated due to the ineffective implementation of the relevant laws.
Traffic management feels like it’s getting worse by the day. No one follows the law on the road, and people seemingly spend more on the road than at their jobs or their homes, which severely impacts productivity and mental health. A number of roads have been widened and new roads, flyovers, and expressways have been built in the last 20 years. However, these structures have also led to an increased number of private cars, which in turn increases the level of traffic jams.
According to a study conducted by the Asian Development Bank, Work for a Better Bangladesh, and HealthBridge titled “Moving dangerously, moving pleasurably,” only 37% of roads have footpaths on both sides, and almost half had none at all. However, when considering the present footpaths, almost three-quarters of the footpath quality is poor and likely to cause pedestrian injuries. Only 18% of footpaths were given a “good” rating.
Due to the poor state of Dhaka’s footpaths, people are often forced to walk on the edge of the roads themselves, which often leads to loss of life and limb due to road accidents – which is a nationwide problem that, despite a number of laws being enacted to help combat, has only seen the numbers go up seemingly every year.
Recently, RAJUK revised the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) and it is expected that the authority will be implementing said plan soon. While it is hard to imagine Dhaka being anywhere near liveable anytime soon, we must always have faith that, one day, this city won’t slowly kill us.
Aminul Islam Sujon is a member of Poribesh Bachao Andolon.
