WITH the Dhaka City Corporation polls schedule just announced, the mayoral and councillor aspirants have come out with a flurry of pledges, which, if implemented, will   give Dhaka a dazzling look. Sure enough, they have unveiled a dream manifesto, but to implement it we need men of sterling qualities both in politics and in the bureaucracy. But do we have such men in our political arena? 

Ill-conceived policies of the past that still continue have created nightmarish conditions in our cities. Worst affected is Dhaka city that grapples with oversized population, scanty land space, water shortage and contaminated water, noxious emissions, toxic effluents from the industries, and recurrent monsoonal floods. The human factors responsible for deterioration of environmental quality are population growth incompatible with development of resources, lack of adequate environmental consideration in the development processes, and poor management of waste generated through the production-consumption process. Compounding the crisis is the unceasing wave of terrorism, violence and crime committed because of lax governance and weak policing.

The maladies that affect the capital city or even the countryside are not merely localised wounds that can be cleaned, disinfected and healed; they have deep roots. Basically the problem stems from lack of vision, coordinated planning, and honest resolve. Rajuk and DCC, the two city development and utility organisations, have come up with shortsighted planning and ad-hoc solutions from the beginning. They have forgotten that cities shape civilisation and cultural roots and urban discipline can only take roots when there is organised civic life. It is only 44 years after liberation that the present minister in charge of housing and public works has expressed his deep resentment over the way Rajuk allowed commercial establishments in the residential areas, and that zoning laws and building codes have been violated with impunity. 

The picture of this fast growing city is grim. There is no sanitation worth the name for 70% of the urban population. Daily, about 65-70 thousand cubic metres of sewage flows into the city's water bodies and canals or into the river Buriganga. Pagla sewerage treatment plant, with a capacity of treating 1,20,000 cubic metres, can now treat only 50 to 55 thousand cubic metres per day. 

Dhaka city roads have turned into a veritable mess. They have been pulverised, cratered and pot-holed because of non-repair for years. Development work has not gained any momentum even in Dhaka city. Rajuk has not taken up the construction of 'Uttara Lake Development Project' in the 10 months after its approval by Ecnec in May, 2014. Although city dwellers pay holding taxes regularly, even when the tax ceiling has been increased several times recently, there has hardly been any improvement in civic amenities. Because of the political feud and bickering, city dwellers have forgotten about their sufferings on the roads and the horrific mosquito menace. They have become resilient and inured to the sufferings they are being subjected to, because they know there is none to listen to or redress their problems.   

Experts have expressed concern that encroachment on the river Buriganga, the lifeline of this 400-yr old city, traffic congestion, pollution and diseases are turning this once growing paradise city into a choking hell. Once, sources of sweet and pure water for Dhaka and Narayanganj, the Buriganga and Shitalakhya rivers are now lifeless receptacles of human wastes and toxic industrial effluents. Besides, land grabbers, who are mostly politically influential, are dumping wastes on the riverbed and then raising unauthorised structures on the reclaimed land. Lack of awareness about the environment and total apathy of the government and different agencies owning river and river bank properties have made the situation worse.   

Dhaka city is now under assault on many fronts like land, water and air. Garbage in Dhaka city has posed a major threat to health and sanitation of people. In the teeming city suburbs filthy water and human excreta along with other wastes in choked drains stagnate throughout the year till the rainy season washes a part of it into the rivers Buriganga and Shitalakhya. 

Dhaka is symbolic of the ills that plague the country's unplanned urbanisation. But it is hardly possible that city corporation services like maintaining roads, sanitation, water bodies and healthcare will improve because transactions and official business in the country are beset by corruption. Even though DCC was split into two parts to bring about improvement in public utility services, no real benefit emerged. It is most unfortunate that the past city corporation administrations failed to bring about any real improvement because of lack of commitment and political will. If things are left as they are now, Dhaka will continue to win the "worst polluted city" medal year after year. 

Election time in the country, whether it is city corporation or national, is the time when a parade of shady characters comes knocking on the voter's door. Many of these aspirants,   booked in the past for amassing wealth beyond known sources of income and charge sheeted for criminal offences, will be asking for votes again. People have become somewhat cynical and are prone to wonder if there is any point in voting when the choice is between bad and worse. Could it be because they know when it comes to corruption all candidates, belonging to any party, are the same? Unfortunately, the weakening moral authority of our leaders in public offices only increases the arbitrary power of the bureaucrats. The commitment, sincerity of purpose and firm resolve that our public leaders are expected to display in vital national reconstruction activities have not come about. 

After the liberation of the country, or even after the restoration of democracy in the '90s, our policy makers and city planners should have evolved a clear urban vision. Unfortunately, those at the helm did not show any ingenuity, competence and commitment. They were more imitative than creative. The Dickensian blight and haze that hang over the city are nothing but a fallout of a foggy vision. 

In absence of a vision, Dhaka has lapsed into a beehive of filth, congestion, squalour and urban blight. With things going so awry, it boils down to the fact that most of the big cities, especially Dhaka, have suffered at the hands of the policy makers. And unless the public takes a unanimous stand in choosing the right people, Dhaka's decline will continue. 

The writer is a columnist of The Daily Star. 
E-mail: aukhandk@gmail.com