‘Coordinated efforts needed to build safe and sustainable cities’

Coordinated efforts and concept of good citizenship are necessary for attaining the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 11 to make the cities livable, stakeholders told a roundtable.

Prothom Alo in association with Save the Children organised the roundtable titled ‘Progress and Challenge for Establishing Safe and Sustainable Cities’ at Karwan Bazar’s CA Bhaban in the capital on Saturday.

The UN has defined 10 Targets and 15 Indicators for SDG 11 to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation Atiqul Islam said the corruption is a big challenge in attaining SDG.

The mayor urged the citizens to become more responsible to keep the cities safe and sustainable.
“Some 800 tonnes of garbage were recovered from Kalshi canal in a recent drive. Against this backdrop, we must know the definition of a good citizen,” Atiqul lamented.

He also pledged to reclaim the greenery in Dhaka city and open field for children to make the city children-friendly.

Disaster management and relief ministry joint secretary M Khalid Mahmud said earthquake, water logging and risk of fire are the biggest threats for Dhaka city.
Yet, the authorities failed to demolish about 310 most vulnerable buildings for various reasons, he said.

Bangladesh Institute of Planners’ vice president Akter Mahmud said, “We must question ourselves how safe is Dhaka city’s public transport for women, children and specially needed people.”

He said pedestrians are at higher risk of road accidents in the city.

Akter pointed out that the footpaths of the city are being shrunk in the pretext of mega projects, making the pedestrians vulnerable to road accidents.

Save the Children’s humanitarian director Mostak Hossain stressed on disaster risk management in every development activities in cities.

“We can make good strategies, but the implementation is a problem,” he added.

Professor of development studies at Dhaka University, Kazi Maruful Islam called for the improvement in political culture for proper implementation of city development plans.

Former RAJUK chairman Shahid Alam said unscrupulous people have no shortage of excuse to encroach water bodies, parks and open spaces.

UNDP’s poverty and urbanisation head Ashekur Rahman said private sectors should be incorporated in urban development as some $928 billion would be
required for attaining SDG goals by 2030.

Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon’s member secretary Iqbal Habib said more than seven thousand acres of land in Dhaka city are in possession of different government bodies which need to be freed.

Seventh five year plan’s project director Mustafizur Rahman, project director of RAJUK’s Detailed Area Plan Ashraful Islam, programme specialist of UNICEF Shamima Siddiky, economic justice and resilience manager of Oxfam in Bangladesh Mohammad Khalid Hossain, World Vision Bangladesh’s technical
programme director Mohammad Norul Alam, Save the Children’s deputy director Syed Matiul Ahsan and Urban Development Directorate’s director Khurshid Jabin Hossain Toufiq, among others, spoke at the programme moderated by Prothom Alo associate editor Abdul Quayyum.