Traffic congestion in Dhaka eats up 3.2 million working hours per day and costs the economy several billion dollars every year, according to a World Bank (WB) analysis unveiled last week.
Average driving speed on Dhaka's streets has dropped to less than 7.0 kilometres per hour (kmph) from 21kmph a decade ago. If the current trend continues, it will be 4.0kmph, which is slower than normal walking speed. Meanwhile, a report of the Revised Strategic Transport Plan (RSTP) 2016 says unprecedented traffic congestion in the capital eats up around Tk 200 billion a year. Some 3.2 million business hours are also lost every day. The city dwellers make, according to the report, around 30 million trips every day. Of them, some 47 per cent travel by buses, nine per cent by cars while 32 per cent by rickshaws.
Dhaka city for years has been bogged down by perennial traffic congestion problem. Very recently water-logging has turned out to be another big problem. The unplanned growth of the city has made it one of the world's most messy and dense cities with unprecedented congestion, poor liveability, and vulnerability to floods and earthquakes. Many residents, including 3.5 million slum dwellers, very often lack access to basic services, infrastructure and amenities.
Between 1995 and 2005, road surface in Dhaka increased by only 5.0 per cent, while population increased by 50 per cent and traffic by 134 per cent. The city witnessed a 133 per cent increase in its area recently, mostly in the eastern part, which has created new challenges for service-providers.
In fact, Dhaka constitutes one per cent of the country's landmass but contributes 36 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) with 10 per cent of the total population. The government is now working with a vision to make the country a middle-income one by 2021 and develop it fully by 2041. Analysts are of the opinion that it is possible to transform the city into a modern livable city if serious efforts are made in this regard. For example, they say Delhi was a city of mismanagement with pollution, shortage of power and lack of healthcare facility and poor transport system in the '90s.
But it was transformed into a green city over the years with the introduction of compressed natural gas (CNG) in public transport and 250km metro rail, privatising power distribution and increasing the number of hospitals, among others. If Delhi could be made a modern city from a messy situation, why not Dhaka, they say.
There is no denying that Bangladesh is growing fast and Dhaka is growing faster. The capital city also has immense importance in the country's overall economic development. The government needs to ensure coordination among 56 service- providers, as no pragmatic plans were there behind building of city roads, drainage system and even for setting up of street lights. The city development efforts did not have continuity and were not sustainable.
Only a clear vision of the people, the government agencies, private investors, and development organisations, and timely actions could ensure building Dhaka as a planned new city. Of late, the World Bank has firmly committed to such endeavour through investments that are needed to transform Dhaka. It is expected that coordination among stakeholders, chalking out a master plan, and restoring the four rivers surrounding the capital, among others, would be ensured. Managing the increasing population and poor drainage system are other major challenges of the city. In order to address such challenges, a city government is deemed necessary for the development of this big city.
Analysts say there is no alternative to transforming Dhaka into a modern livable city. The city must be decentralised and expanded accordingly. Rail, road, and water links must be established with adjacent districts. With the World Bank by its side, the authorities must seize the opportunity to properly plan, coordinate, and invest for the future of the capital.
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