Dhaka is a four-hundred-year-old city. Once known as the “Venice of the East,” its name now frequently appears in various international indices as one of the world’s most “unlivable” cities. Surrounded by four rivers—the Buriganga, Turag, Balu, and Shitalakshya—and woven together by a net of countless canals, this city was naturally blessed. However, unplanned development, political short-sightedness, and a festival of encroachment over the past few decades have pushed Dhaka toward an extreme existential crisis. This transformation of Dhaka did not happen overnight; it is a history of long-term planning and management failure.
During the Mughal era, Dhaka was primarily a garden city. When Subedar Islam Khan made Dhaka the capital, its natural defense system consisted of its rivers and canals. In 1917, while working on Dhaka’s planning, the renowned urban planner Patrick Geddes warned, “The canals are the very life of Dhaka. If these canals are filled, the city will die.”
Unfortunately, we did not heed that warning. While urbanization progressed at a somewhat slow pace from the British period through the Pakistan era, the major catastrophe began in the years following independence.
The first institutional planning for modern Dhaka was undertaken in 1959. The British firm ‘Minoprio, Spencely, and Macfarlane’ created a Master Plan for Dhaka. That plan outlined a structured city with clear divisions for residential areas, commercial zones, and green parks.
However, during both the Pakistan period and the post-independence era, this plan was bypassed as haphazard settlements began to spring up. With the exception of a few areas like Ramna Green and Dhanmondi, the rest of the city began to grow without any regard for rules or regulations.
The 1980s and 1990s marked the laying of the foundation for Dhaka’s environmental catastrophe. Fueled by the booming business of real estate companies and government apathy, the filling of Dhaka’s low-lying lands (Flood Flow Zones) and water reservoirs began. The bustling Panthapath of today was originally a canal or water flow emerging from Dhanmondi Lake. It was filled to build a road. The result—Green Road and Dhanmondi areas go under water with just a little rain. Vast wetlands on the eastern side of the city (Bashundhara and Purbachal) were filled to build one housing project after another, blocking the natural drainage paths for rainwater.
In 1995, the Capital Development Authority (RAJUK) formulated a Structural Plan for Dhaka, based on which the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) was published as a gazette in 2010. The main objective of the DAP was to protect Dhaka’s water bodies and control population density.
But the reality is different. Under pressure from influential circles and real estate lobbyists, the DAP has been amended repeatedly. High-rise buildings have been constructed where parks or playgrounds were supposed to be. Sand has been dumped where water bodies were supposed to exist. The rule of law here has been defeated by the power of money.
Today’s Dhaka has turned into a “Heat Island.” By cutting down trees and filling wetlands, we have created an environment where in winter, the air quality reaches ‘hazardous’ levels. Due to unplanned roads and a private car-dependent transport system, thousands of working hours are wasted on the streets. Flyover construction was thought to be a solution, but it has merely shifted traffic congestion from one intersection to another. Several times more people than the city’s capacity are living in this small space, causing the utility sectors (water, electricity, gas) to collapse.
History suggests that Dhaka lost its livability primarily due to centralized governance and a lack of law enforcement. However, is it all lost? Experts believe there is still a glimmer of hope if strict decisions are taken:
Decentralization: To save Dhaka, the influx of people toward the city must be stopped. It is impossible to reduce the pressure on Dhaka without decentralizing administration, education, and healthcare.
Emphasis on Public Transport: The Metro Rail is a good start, but the entire city must be made bus-friendly and walkable. The use of private cars must be discouraged.
Restoration of Waterbodies: The canals that still remain must be recovered and used as waterways. The Hatirjheel project has proven that people still love water bodies.
Strict Law Enforcement: RAJUK must be made corruption-free to ensure the proper implementation of the DAP.
Dhaka is not merely a city of brick and stone; it is the center of dreams and livelihoods for millions of people. But the city is now bowed down by the weight of these dreams. This history of losing livability reminds us that no city can survive for long by going against nature. Perhaps Dhaka’s lost glory cannot be fully restored, but if the reins are not pulled tight immediately, it won’t be long before it becomes an “abandoned city.” It is our responsibility to leave behind a breathable city for our next generation.
