Dhaka, the Least Livable City in the World
Abstract
The pollution in Dhaka has crossed all limits. Old motor vehicles, dust, abandoned wastes, brick kilns and other industrial establishments are polluting the city unabated. We conducted this study to identify causes and effects... [ view full abstract ]
The pollution in Dhaka has crossed all limits. Old motor vehicles, dust, abandoned wastes, brick kilns and other industrial establishments are polluting the city unabated. We conducted this study to identify causes and effects of the pollution in Dhaka city and recommend possible remedial measures. We used secondary data from various sources including the World Health Organization, Ministry of the Environment, scientific journals and newspapers. Politics and corruption are the major reasons for over population, pollution and mismanagement responsible for the miserable situation of Dhaka city. Politics made all roads lead to Dhaka that resulted in an exponential increase of its population from one million in 1971 to 21 million in 2015 with 50,000 per square kilometer – the highest density in the world. The city has only 220 kilometer road to accommodate one and a half million vehicles. Ninety percent of old faulty vehicles are the major cause of air pollution in the city. Besides, 5,000 brick kilns around the city account for 30% air pollution. Dust; black smoke from factories and burners of slum people; households, hospitals and factory wastes; and stinky river water seriously polluted by industrial wastes are also the sources of pollution. Tanneries produce 20,000 cubic meters of toxic waste laden with chromium and at least 30 other toxins every day. Air pollution causes bronchitis, upper-respiratory infections, gastrointestinal disorders, anaemia, insomnia, weight loss, motor weakness, muscle paralysis, nephropathy, etc. The government should come up with a stringent plan to decentralize administration with a firm commitment eliminating corruption in all sectors and this can only reduce the burden of Dhaka city. Addressing just the air pollution, the government may save US$200-800 million per year in lost productivity that amounts to about 0.7% to 3.0% of its gross national product.
Authors
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Md. Sirajul Islam Molla
(Sunder Jiban)
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Farhat Samin
(University of Dhaka)
Topic Areas
II. Environmental Health 2.1 Disease mapping 2.2 Assessment of the impact of environmental , IV. Urbanism, Health and Wellbeing 4.1 Built environment 4.2 Pollution: air, noise, etc
Session
PS-3 » POSTER SESSION 3 (12:15 - Sunday, 3rd April, TBA)
Paper
Abstract_on_air_pollution_to_ICUH_2016.doc
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