Living Conditions in Dhaka

Dhaka is the fastest growing mega-city in the world. It is centrally located in Bangladesh and is the most accessible city of the country. With a population of about 7 million it continues to still grow rapidly and stay predominantly rural. However the population pressure on the primate city remains very high and is likely to continue to increase. Annually, the city draws an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 poor migrants who provide critical employment for the city’s industries and services. However the problem arises at how to house these thousands of new workers. Urgent measures are required to address the vital needs of the rapidly growing urban poor.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, was projected in 2010 as having a population of 17.6 million people, with up to 60% of those living in the slums.  During an annual global survey of livability that assesses living conditions in 140 cities, Dhaka was ranked the second worst city in the world.  The survey also found people scoring below average marks in stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.  Of the 100 subjects surveyed, most were married.  There were 81% who did not have any schooling and the average age was 35. They had 4.6 children per family and 31 other dependents, usually in-laws and siblings, living with them. Of the 96 subjects surveyed, 84 lived with their spouse, 3 husbands lived closer to their work, and 7 women reported their husbands to be polygamous, living with a second family. 

There were 45% that had been living in current slums for less than 2 years. The slum land where 60% of the population resides, is owned by a landowner and rent was collected for permission to build a bamboo shelter to use as a home.  These landowners did not pay government taxes and are not accountable for the conditions or safety of the slums.  In addition, families were charged for toilet usage, drinking and bathing water, electricity and gas.

Dhaka is the focus of most of Bangladesh’s political administration, economic and social attention. However, the city also concentrates private investments; public spending and investment in health and education facilities, and public policy decisions traditionally are skewed in favor of Dhaka since the independence of Bangladesh. The focus of investment and decision-making power in Dhaka fuels ever higher rate of migration to the City. Formal sector, private developers generally serve only the upper and middle income groups  making industrially developed units unaffordable not only to the poor, but to the vast majority of the population. Major NGOs like CARE supported some slum improvement programs but none thus far have had any housing component. All together they have made little to none impact on the improvement of slums in Dhaka, due to the massive scale of the problem. Usually the high prices and congestion in Dhaka would make other cities a more attractive investment and hence open up new job locations. But, Dhaka’s primacy is still on the rise, both in terms of population and power.

Currently, the city’s mostly poor residents live in basic housing where the rents are high, living space is cramped, and given the temporary nature of most housing, amenities are low.  As migration to the city continues to increase the conditions that are already bad appear to be getting worse. Rents continue to rise along with Dhaka’s rapid growth rate, the cities size, and bad environmental conditions. Over the next decade the number of slum dwellers is projected to grow to 8 million. With this growth, policy makers need to address land and housing as a top priority. However, problems of authority worsen the already complex land and housing issues in Dhaka.

Sources 

www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com

www.worldbank.org.bd

www.dhakacity.com.b

http://www.worldhum.com/images/photo_of_day/cache/daypic0323_615-615x455.jpg

Employment in Dhaka

The core of Bangladesh’s business and commerce sectors reside at the capital city of Dhaka and the surrounding metropolitan area. A large portion of the economy is based in the informal sector which provides employment for a significant number of Dhaka’s lower class. Rick-shaw operators, street vendors, and hawkers form a major part of the informal sector with over 400,000 rick-shaw drivers alone. Nearly half of the lower class finds employment through household work and other forms of unorganized labor. Additionally, the textile industry provides jobs for approximately 800,000 of Dhaka’s 15,000,000 citizens.

Dhaka’s upper class has driven up demand for luxury goods and various consumer products, thus boosting employment numbers in the manufacturing industry. However, the city faces huge employment challenges with unemployment rates at 23%, among the lowest of any South-Asian mega-city. About 48% of the city lives below the poverty line and the average annual income is around $550 American dollars. Much of this unemployment is due to migrants from rural villages who cannot find jobs once they arrive in the big city. Many of these people are forced to survive on less than $10 American dollars a day.

Bangladesh’s economy in general still largely depends on agriculture, and as a result the nation as a whole has seen little economic growth over the last few years. This means that, although the upper and middle class’s purchasing power has gone up in recent years, the consumer economy still remains relatively low. And in turn, fewer jobs in the manufacturing sector are available to Dhaka’s poor.

Dhaka’s rick-shaw operators (which make up the largest such contingent in the world) are slowly adding to the unemployment numbers as government officials have made efforts to rid the streets of them. The government argues that they only add to the traffic congestion problem and further hurt the city’s economy. However, recently both the United Nations and the Dhaka City Corporation have been designing plans to segregate lanes and build special pathways for rick-shaws. Not only would this save a source of employment for many people, but it would likely increase the average earnings for each individual operator due to quicker delivery times.

The government in an effort to curb unemployment has appealed to the upper class by building several malls which in turn have provided employment for the middle class. However, this has done little to remedy the situation because most of the unemployment stems from people who have grown up in a lower class background. The government also expanded the amount of companies on the Dhaka Stock Exchange but again this has only benefited the upper end of the economic scale and done little to effect joblessness rates.

The future for Dhaka’s job market is not as bleak as it seems. Several foreign companies are planning on constructing skyscrapers and urban development plans will boost the lagging construction sector. Additionally, the government has spent millions on advertising in foreign countries to try and boost tourism which will likely create more jobs. Though, in comparison to other Asian mega-cities such as Seoul, South Korea, Dhaka is miserably behind in terms of the economy and employment.

Sources

www.dhakacity.org/Page/To_know/About/Category/2/Id/21/Type/Quick/Info

www.prb.org/Articles/2001/UrbanizationTakesonNewDimensionsinAsiasPopulationGiants.aspx

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/136074.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/h1/south_asia/5052738.stm

http://web.archive.org/web/20040909085826

www.citiesalliance.org/fukuoka.nsf/Attachments/CP_Dhaka/$File/CPF_Dhaka.PDF

http://www.dhaka-city.com/images/rickshaw-dhaka.jpg

Water/Sanitation in Dhaka

One of the main challenges that Dhaka faces is its water and sanitation shortcomings. Over 4 million people in Dhaka are living without basic services like potable water and toilets. About two-thirds of the sewage that the city produces is left completely untreated, allowing it to seep into the waterways as well as the ground. As a result, almost 50,000 Bangladeshi children die each year from related waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea and typhoid. The supply of water in many parts is inadequate and in some areas non-existent.

According to statistics released by Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority, the city's daily demand for water is about 2,100 million liters and it is only able to supply 1,600 million liters. Also, nearly 80 percent of the city is being paved, which is believed to be the main cause of depletion in the underground water level.

Currently, huge tube wells are used to extract the underground water but only to a certain extent because extracting too much would cause the land to be vulnerable to earthquakes. Another option being used is to supply the city with river water from water treatment plants. The Sayeedabad water treatment plant (such a plant currently under construction) has made it through the first construction phase but has been halted in its second phase awaiting negotiations with foreign development agencies. Two other major projects to attain water from the Padma for the city are also pending within various organizations. The city government is taking action to complete these negotiations in order to alleviate the city’s dire need of clean water.

Another major issue dealing with the water supply is the contamination of the rivers in proximity to Dhaka. The rivers are getting more and more polluted due to the unregulated drainage of sewage and other pollutants into the rivers. This has complicated the operation plans of the Sayeedabad plant and will also have effects on future projects designed to use these rivers as a source of water. Further rules and regulations are necessary if Dhaka plans to get cleaner rivers and, in turn, use them as a water source.

Sources
http://freshclick.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/water-crisis-of-dhaka-bangladesh/
http://pulitzercenter.org/projects/asia/dhaka%E2%80%99s-challenge-megacity-struggles-water-sanitation-and-hygiene
www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=32058
http://www.cricketump.com/images/Bangladesh%20v%20N.Z.%20Oct.2004/Bangladesh...Oct.2004...shanty.JPG
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYFvkmg6AFpPEpMdEXTrx39lvs1iodbIyoxjRYqDaYXazz1P8ugliMAE6GUq4rE3Br3e0CdITqzZ6EnDvhVo9YGKh0b3cJRYRTFzuiPh8Hvi561AjpVdI9YodRcEbItYAyH85lz-u6wQ/s400/Dhaka,+Bangladesh.jpg

Education in Dhaka

Education levels in Bangladesh have remained relatively low but have steadily increased as poverty levels have decreased.  In 2001 the literacy rate was at 45.3% for both males and females above the age of 15. In 2007 it rose over eight percentage points to 53.5%. Although education and literacy rates have been improving there seems to be a gender gap as literacy rates among women are about 80% of those among men. The gender gap in education has slowly been decreasing within younger generations.

The Primary and Mass Education Division (PMED) provides management of primary education in Bangladesh.  They formulate the policies which are implemented by the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE).  The current Bangladesh education system consists of four levels: Primary (grades 1-5), Secondary (grades 6-10), Higher Secondary (grades 11-12), and Tertiary (colleges, universities, institutes of technology, and polytechnics). Typically education is mainly offered in Bengali, but English is also commonly taught and used, especially in the higher educational tiers.

In addition to the typical four-tiered education system in place in Bangladesh there are also a number of NGO-run schools which receive funds from the government. These schools are typically for drop-outs of the government and non-government primary schools. They tend to follow an informal approach to suit the special needs of the students, who are usually from vulnerable parts of society.

The city of Dhaka has created its own board of education called the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka. The structure of the education system follows that of the rest of Bangladesh. The city is home to the largest number of schools and colleges within the country. This includes 52 universities, more than any other Bangladesh city. Dhaka College, founded in 1840, is the oldest institution of higher education in the city and among the earliest established in British India. The University of Dhaka is the largest public university in the nation with over 30,000 enrolled students. Dhaka’s college campuses seem to be the root of many political conflicts and are home to many protests/strikes.

Sources

www.banbeis.gov.bd/bd_pro.htm

www.educationboard.gov.bd/dhaka/index.php

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7138123.stm

http://web.archive.org/web/20060904074222/

www.univdhaka.edu/fastFacts.php

http://image61.webshots.com/161/6/48/97/491164897FViOFf_ph.jpg