Imran Rahman :
I can hardly remember the last time I saw a flock of flying herons; cotton white clouds gathering on the horizon. That diaphanous look of blue sky with colorful kites has disappeared behind piles of bricks and glasses mounted upward. Feeling the serene touch of spring in mild breeze is now a distant memory. Its beauty, standing on the crystal-clear murmuring rivers, alive with boats almost all around it, is faded. Its depiction of greenery today is just confined in a few parks working as the last respiratory system, are also left uncared for with wicked, unsocial activities and unhygienic environment.
Dhaka, a historical city of more than four centuries, already burdened with nearly 18 million strong, beyond its capacity, has fallen mindless victim to illegal grabbing, pollution of all sorts and unplanned urbanization. Every day, with the laying of new foundation stone of new sky-crapper, that cool shade of trees surrounding old building is getting lost.
Once abounded with open fields, free flow of seasonal wind, paved ponds and gardens with varied flowers in front of almost every house, the city has now compressed into some filthy alleys with stench.
Our endeavors to maintain the balance of biodiversity by planting foreign trees like eucalyptus, rain-tree and teak along the roads and highways of the capital is falling flat as these are unfamiliar to our local birds.
As far as the very saying `sound mind in a sound body’ is concerned, it is compulsory for educational institutions to provide students with adequate playgrounds for their sportive, spontaneous and creative development.
Unfortunately, the scopes for our children to pass their leisure in close contact of green grass and morning dew has narrowed here day by day.
They wake up in the morning with ear-splitting sound of hydraulic horn instead of magpie-robin’s sweet chirping. Their realm of mind is gradually getting occupied with computers and mobile phones. At a very tender age they are suffering from obesity, hypertensive diseases and optical problems. Sometimes, question arises in me who will control them; whether human will technology or the technology will human, as the speed of machine is running over our artistic bent of mind.
Moreover, flourishing flat culture has entirely changed the social mindset of the city. With ongoing competition of riches and wealth, socio-economic gap between the rich and the poor is widening very fast. Current Dhaka is a glaring example of how the demographic dividends of our national income are getting concentrated in the hands of a few ultra- rich.
Very bond of social fabric is wearing out day by day. Haughty attitude is gradually taking root in the hearts of people living here. Far from intimate attachment of flora and fauna they are taking lesson of materialism and selfishness amid growing sense of intolerance, unrest and insecurity.
Teachings of ideals and values on the basis of which an enlightened middle class once emerged in the city, are getting secondary to external glosses.
One cannot deny from geographical and historical perspective that people origin from arid or desert land; such as Mongolia and some parts of Arab are more prone to war and plundering than that of areas awash with rivers and greenery.
In a recent survey of 140 cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Dhaka has been rated as the second least livable city in the world just behind only the war ravaged Syrian capital of Damascus. Regrettably, the city has been over the years falling much short of required scores in almost all the livelihood indexes.
Government’s noble initiatives and goodwill in a bid to free the city from traffic deadlock is doing little with ongoing rush of people from every corner of the country, Illegal parking of vehicles and increasing make-shift markets on footpaths.
All efforts to adding external beauty with artificial fountains and easing transportation with multi-designed overpasses are going in vain with the city going under waist deep water in just a shower of rain. Woes of dwellers know no bounds due to ineffective drainage system.
