If a foreigner or even a Bangladeshi, who is living outside the country for five years or more, come to Dhaka and enters Dhaka through the airport then he will must tell that Bangladesh has developed a lot. It will seem to him that the poverty has almost gone. A foreigner will not get any impression that Bangladesh is a country which is under poverty line. But the scenario which will not be visible to a foreigner but is a reality lies in the slums of Bangladesh.
A recent survey says that 40% of the total area of Dhaka city is slum. The environments of the slums are not so suitable to live. People live in a small room where it is just impossible to live. But still they live and spend their days in this situation. The rooms in the slum where it is difficult to stay for one person 3-4 person live in that small room. They do not have any proper sanitation facility. The latrines they use are unhygienic.100-150 people share one common latrine. Still they live. The slumdewellers are deprived of education.
Now the question is why these slums are getting increased in number? There are many cause which is making the number of slums getting increased. People in rural area come to the city to get better opportunity. Many people loose their house and land because natural calamities like flood, cyclone or river erosion.So,they come to the city for better opportunity as the Dhaka city is the center of all purpose. First of all they start to live in the railway station or an open place and gradually they form an open place like slum.
Lives in a slum really not good.They are deprived of their 5 basic needs. They do not get any proper education. Even they do not have the facility to drink pure drinking water. Most of the slum dwellers are rikshawpooler,maid servants or they just do not have any job to do.
Though many non governmental organization are working with them to change their lives but the number is less and the assistance to them is not going to the right place.
The cause of this situation of this is the lake of planning in the expansion of the city. The other main cause is Dhaka is getting the central point of all the commercial and official activities. So, it is always expected to circulate the power through the country including the small towns.
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