Dhaka today
Photo: Munir Uz Zaman / Driknews
During and much before the 1960's Dhaka was a quiet city or town where people used to know more or less everyone and the city had separate areas for living, working and entertainment! If the above paragraph is true, the city planners, the government and the city corporation of today's Dhaka certainly need to look back as how it can accommodate a healthy life for its residents. What we see today is that residential areas are no longer residential, they have offices, schools, universities and commercial shops! Commercial areas have turned into parking lots and kitchen markets and educational institutes have also turned into mini battlefields which was never expected, the stadium complex at Gulistan has turned into a circular shopping city with the hockey stadium and Baitul Mukkaram as the neighbouring/supporting suburbs. If someone takes a look into Dhaka city, he will find all the areas have everything and none of the areas are designated for any particular activity resulting in traffic congestion, sound and air pollution and the major crisis of today "Shortfall of Electricity" due to haphazard distribution of electricity by Desa/ Desco. Motijheel, Dilkhusha which had the sole commercial district tags till the early 90s have now lost their glory as big corporates and banks have shifted their head offices to a posh residential area. To save Dhaka, the city planners along with environmentalists, the government and its utility service providers need to sit down together, re-plan the city with a new commercial district for offices only, new educational district for schools only, a separate zone for shopping malls and shopping arcades, designated areas for kitchen markets, areas only for residential purpose, at least five big parks on every corner of the city and one at the centre for fresh air (subject to tree plantation), recreation facilities for children and adults over the age of 60 etc. A good leadership, a patriotic government(s), a dynamic mayor(s) can change this city for good in reality and not verbally, as they do before the elections.
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