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Researcher: Abu Rayhan Al Beeroonee
The slum-dwellers and squatter community exist in most
cities of Bangladesh, more prominently in the capital
city of Dhaka. Despite their contributions to the economy
and welfare of the city, there is a very negative image
about them in the minds of the city dwellers generally
and the authorities in particular that see the existence
of slums more as a nuisance than as a human problem
to be dealt with in a humane manner. As a result hardly
any attention is given to their basic human needs. They
live under a constant threat of eviction and in most
inhuman living conditions, without water, power, gas
and other essential facilities. Most often they are
evicted from slums on government land without prior
notice or very short notices, making them destitute
over and over again. Such a situation could be avoided
if a model plan for resettlement of the urban poor,
particularly the slum-dwellers, could be developed on
the basis of consensus amongst policy makers, professionals,
urban planners, concerned agencies and the slum dwellers
themselves. Fortunately efforts have been made in recent
times by concerned members of the civil society to develop
a model plan for resettlement of the slum dwellers for
presentation to the authorities. The research under
consideration, while assessing the perception of the
slum dwellers in Dhaka city about their housing needs
and their priorities in this regard, would also seek
their views on the architectural design and other features
envisaged in the model plan. It would assess the acceptability
of the plan and identify changes that may be required
for its acceptance by them. Once such a plan is vetted
by the slum dwellers themselves, efforts would be undertaken
for its promotion to the concerned authorities.
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