Biggest Cities in Bangladesh
Bangladesh - one of the upcoming Asian
countries is known mainly for its textile industry worldwide. Most of the
multinational companies dealing with garments have their factories set up in
Bangladesh. The reason for choosing Bangladesh over other countries is mainly
due to affordable labour cost and availability of high-quality textile,
especially cotton and its close cousins. With almost 9 million metro residents,
Dhaka is the biggest city in one of the world's most densely populated nations,
Bangladesh.
Demography
Dhaka, which is the capital of
Bangladesh is one of its oldest district divisions, and has featured in the
pages of history for various reasons. Dhaka has the highest population in
Bangladesh, which is a mix of various culture, community, and ethnic groups.
One can get the pulse of the country by visiting Dhaka alone. Chittagong being
a coastal seaport city has a mix of both urban and rural life with the former
growing in leaps and bounds. It also happens to be the financial centre in
south-eastern Bangladesh. Narayanganj, which is centrally nestled close to
Dhaka, has also shown remarkable growth in terms of metro life. It boasts of
the oldest river port of the nation.
Growth Trends
Dhaka has been labeled as the fastest
growing mega city in the world with the latest UN report estimating the growth
as high as 10 million or even more. Very little have been done to upgrade the
poverty line as there are huge slum areas and people are often seen begging and
sleeping on the roads. Dhaka as a city has almost been doubled in size in
between 1990 and 2005 as per World Bank and will very soon cross Mexico City or
Beijing in terms of population. Urban development and economic growth in
Chittagong has seen a remarkable up rise in the last decade, with contributing
to $41.45million dollar to Bangladesh’s $20 million from exports alone.
Chittagong’s percapita income is $ 5,713, which is the highest in the country.
Though Chittagong is the second largest division , but boasts of the highest
standard of living among all the Bangladesh divisions. Chittagong has also made
the division self sufficient by developing in Pharmaceutical, Steel and Food
industries. Narayanganj, the river port is rich in industry, especially Jute
mills and textile industries and is also termed as the Dundee of Bangladesh.
Old as well as new companies are investing in new units in Narayanganj. Inspite
of quite a few SEZs , a few more are on
the anvil in Chittagong.
Problems associated with growth
With the rapid growth in urban life in
metro cities, rural life in Dhaka has gone for a toss. Annually the cities
attract 3 to 4 lac migrants mostly from the poor rural segment. The cities are
growing up to mega city only for taller buildings and bellowing out more smoke
in the grey sky. Chittagong’s growth on one hand has also led to inflation,
thus the gap between the rich and poor is getting even more broader and people
below the poverty line find it difficult to meet ends in the city. With the
vast SEZ and the inclusion of various industries, the environment in
Narayanganj has gone for a toss. Pollution and population is a ever increasing
subject in Narayanganj. With the rise in population, literacy levels are still
to be worked upon.
Socioeconomic environment
The socioeconomic state of the Country,
especially the top 3 cities have only declined over the past years. Life at
Dhaka for the slum dwellers, street vendors, senior citizens, students,
professionals have not got any better with the struggle for existence
continuously in their mind. Though Chittagong has seen a sea of change in the
textile industry, there are very few or negligible women working in the field,
as the government has not put enough efforts or policies for the upliftment of
women and children. Narayanganj with it’s ever increasing population and
industries have not contributed much to the literacy chart.
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