Dhaka’s safety marks as a city

Improvement can really be brought into our civic life through following well-thought out plans

The condition of Dhaka city needs to be improved. Inhabitants of this city suffer numerous civic problems including traffic jams, water logging, meagre liquid and solid waste disposal system, poor condition of roads, etc. But topping them all is building safety—many buildings of the city is weakly constructed without following the city’s master plan or the building code. Not surprisingly, the capital that we love has been ranked at the bottom in The Economist’s Safe City Index 2017.

According to this report, Dhaka is among the three lowest ranking cities with Yangon and Karachi in the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit makes this report every year using 49 indicators covering digital security, health security, infrastructure security and personal security; and this year, Dhaka has ranked 58th among the 60 cities, with overall points of 47.37, according to the index.

According to the findings, on digital security, Bangladesh’s capital, along with other low-income cities—Ho Chi Minh City, Yangon and Manila—has deficiencies in technological skills. The report mentioned that competing challenges such as tackling infectious diseases and poverty can push cyber security lower on the list of priorities.

Dhaka is also one of those cities where the price of labour is low and as far as personal security of a person in the city is concerned, it is also not bright either as it is placed 43rd. As regards health security, Dhaka’s position is second from the bottom. Among the poorer cities, the report rightly mentioned that it is struggling to deliver adequate health services.

The report of The Economist Intelligent Unit is well accepted around the world, and there is no point in dismissing its findings. Since we do not have our own study mechanism for assessing livability of our city, or any city for that matter, we have to pay attention to its findings. And few would agree that as dwellers of this city we are happy, even though there is no dearth of love in us for it.

That is why we have to work for improving the standard of our living conditions, not just in Dhaka but in other towns as well. True we have our resource limitations and people’s awareness about civic responsibilities is also very low. We also have a huge population to support within a small space. But the negative side should not make us pessimistic. Improvement can really be brought into our civic life through following well-thought out plans in coordination with government’s various departments. 

Dhakas safety marks as a city

Improvement can really be brought into our civic life through following well-thought out plans

The condition of Dhaka city needs to be improved. Inhabitants of this city suffer numerous civic problems including traffic jams, water logging, meagre liquid and solid waste disposal system, poor condition of roads, etc. But topping them all is building safetymany buildings of the city is weakly constructed without following the citys master plan or the building code. Not surprisingly, the capital that we love has been ranked at the bottom in The Economists Safe City Index 2017. According to this report, Dhaka is among the three lowest ranking cities with Yangon and Karachi in the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit makes this report every year using 49 indicators covering digital security, health security, infrastructure security and personal security; and this year, Dhaka has ranked 58th among the 60 cities, with overall points of 47.37, according to the index. According to the findings, on digital security, Bangladeshs capital, along with other low-income citiesHo Chi Minh City, Yangon and Manilahas deficiencies in technological skills. The report mentioned that competing challenges such as tackling infectious diseases and poverty can push cyber security lower on the list of priorities. Dhaka is also one of those cities where the price of labour is low and as far as personal security of a person in the city is concerned, it is also not bright either as it is placed 43rd. As regards health security, Dhakas position is second from the bottom. Among the poorer cities, the report rightly mentioned that it is struggling to deliver adequate health services. The report of The Economist Intelligent Unit is well accepted around the world, and there is no point in dismissing its findings. Since we do not have our own study mechanism for assessing livability of our city, or any city for that matter, we have to pay attention to its findings. And few would agree that as dwellers of this city we are happy, even though there is no dearth of love in us for it. That is why we have to work for improving the standard of our living conditions, not just in Dhaka but in other towns as well. True we have our resource limitations and peoples awareness about civic responsibilities is also very low. We also have a huge population to support within a small space. But the negative side should not make us pessimistic. Improvement can really be brought into our civic life through following well-thought out plans in coordination with governments various departments.