Economists and researchers at a seminar on Thursday said that Dhaka city had become exhausted under the weight of excessive population density and unplanned activities, and that without decentralisation of power the pressure on the capital could not be reduced.
The Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh organised the seminar on 鈥楿rbanisation and Bangladesh鈥檚 Development 鈥� Findings from BIDS-PRI Research鈥� at its office in the capital鈥檚 Banani.
Power and Participation Research Centre executive chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman, attending as chief guest, said successive governments had failed to develop second- and third-tier cities, allowing Dhaka to grow into the country鈥檚 only prime city.
鈥業n many countries, the capital city is dominant, but there are other developed cities too,鈥� he said, adding that Chattogram, once considered the country鈥檚 second city with greater potential, had declined significantly.
He stressed the need not only for administrative decentralisation but also for decentralising power and services such as education, healthcare, and economic activities with adequate policy support.
Even during major reform periods, including the one under the interim government, urbanisation was largely absent from the national agenda, though the future of cities was crucial for Bangladesh, he noted.
Presenting the keynote paper, PRI director Ahmad Ahsan said that while a city should ideally hold no more than 22 per cent of a country鈥檚 total urban population, Dhaka now had 33 per cent of the urban population.
Excessive concentration of people and economic activities in Dhaka, combined with traffic congestion, pollution and diversion of resources from other centres, was severely hampering development, he observed.
This was slowing job creation, reducing industrial employment, and causing economic losses estimated at 6鈥�10 per cent of the gross domestic product.
Although some relocation of people and industries had taken place, it largely bypassed secondary cities and shifted instead to smaller towns and rural areas, undermining the benefits of urbanisation and weakening long-term growth.
The poor state of urban services, including water supply, sanitation, waste management, health, and education, was cited as a major constraint. Gazipur was highlighted as an example of industrial dynamism coexisting with poor welfare for workers.
Economists and researchers stressed the need to invest in other cities and develop more urban centres in a planned way.
They underscored the importance of good city governance with resident participation, warning that imposed development and a multi-layered management system had fostered a culture of denial, where agencies avoided responsibility.
They also stressed that beyond urban planning, the government should focus on balanced development across the country.
PRI executive director Khurshid Alam, who chaired the seminar, said Dhaka鈥檚 expansion had always been demand-driven, without planned growth.
Instead of inviting people after proper development, the city grew haphazardly, he observed.
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development executive director Imran Matin said that connecting residents with city governance would create constructive pressure on policies.
