Low-cost housing should be built on a public-private partnership basis considering the growing number of internal migrants to Dhaka, said speakers told a seminar on Saturday.
Citing housing as a fundamental right for all, they called for sustainable housing for a lower-income group as around 2,000 victims of either river erosion or natural disasters migrate to Dhaka daily in quest of livelihoods.
They said this at the seminar styled 'Global and Local Commitments for Low-income Housing in Cities: Present Context and Way Forward' hosted by Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
Nazifa Anzum and Sayeda Laizu Aktar presented a paper styled 'Low-income Housing: Policy Guideline and Existing Scenario', Moon Islam, Md Sabbir Hossain Muni and Md Moshiur Rahman Khan a paper on 'Onsite Slum Upgradation of Dhaka Match Factory Colony, Shyampur' and Fairuz Noshin and Ahmed Mushfiq Faiaj on 'Slums in Dhaka: Location, Area and Population'.
All the keynoters are of the same department.
The keynote on slums in Dhaka says 23.8 per cent of global population lives in slum areas with the biggest proportion lives in central and southern Asia.
It mentions that 6.33 per cent of urban people in Bangladesh live in slums. Almost one-third people of Dhaka live in slums and squatter settlements.
According to the keynote, most of the slums are located in residential areas. Slums tend to grow adjacent to water bodies like canal, lake or river.
The number of slums under the jurisdiction of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) is 17 with 8,312 households having 31,877 residents.
On the other hand, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) is home to 102 slums with 78,003 households having 299,608 inhabitants.
The keynote recommends relevant national and international policy guidelines could contribute in an effective way for successful and efficient management of low income house settlements.
Speaking as the chief guest, DNCC mayor Md Atiqul Islam said an estimated 70-per cent people of the world will come to urban areas by 2050.
"We have to face this challenge collectively," he added.
"Let nobody stay behind," the city father said as stressed the need for sustainable housing for low-income group of people.
As per the prime minister's directives, he said, the DNCC started a pilot project to build low-cost sustainable housing for around 700 cleaners at Gabtoli.
He urged the dwellers residing at Uttara to pay city corporation taxes online. "We're trying to fix problems facing Dhaka north's residents gradually."
He lauded the BUET's department concerned for its extensive research on resolving housing problem of lower-income group of people.
Mr Islam said he would submit the findings of the BUET survey on low-income housing to the Mayors Migration Council of the United Nations.
BUET vice-chancellor Prof Satya Prasad Majumder gave a vote of thanks.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha chairman Md Anisur Rahman Miah, Planning Commission's Physical Infrastructure Division member (secretary) Md Mamun-Al-Rashid and BUET pro-VC Dr Abdul Jabbar Khan, among others, were present.
