Abstract

One of the biggest slums in Bangladesh is Korail, which lies close to Mohakhali, Gulshan, and Banani (considered the posh residential area of Dhaka City). As is well known, urban poverty rates are rising steadily across the board in metropolitan areas, but Dhaka is the worst hit. The city of Dhaka is under pressure, endangering the lives of slum dwellers because of a lack of urban land, insufficient urban infrastructure, and ineffective government policies. The main struggles, particularly those of the Korail slum dwellers, are the subject of this case study. It aims to comprehend well the fundamental problems, such as eviction, poor housing conditions, internal political power structures, and the scarcity of cheap urban housing for the poor. In order to better understand how the government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector developers can help the urban poor, this study aims to define their respective roles and responsibilities. It makes the case that even though the Korail slum’s residents’ quality of life has improved due to the efforts of 31 NGOs, they still reside in a volatile area because the government wants to move them elsewhere for the slum’s development.

Keywords: Eviction, dwelling structure, government, NGO

Glossary

ü DWSSA- Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority ü BRAC- The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee ü ASA- The Association for Social

ü DSK- Dushtha Shasthya Kendra

Introduction

In Dhaka, directly across from the BRAC headquarters, is located Korail, one of the biggest slums in Bangladesh. From Bangladesh’s poorest regions, the bulk of the residents of Korail moved to Dhaka. Korail, a 100-acre city with a population of over 50,000, is described by BRAC as having a 100-acre total area. The major reasons for choosing Korail Slum, in particular, are that it is adjacent to the affluent neighborhoods of Gulshan and Banani, as was previously indicated, that the land is expensive here, and that the region has the potential for urban growth, which is the main reason why the impoverished slum inhabitants are evicted. Since this slum is located within Gulshan Thana, it has turned into a noxious boil for the wealthy Gulshan-Banani high society of the city. In the Korail slum on April 4, one of Dhaka’s largest forced slum evictions took place. The bulldozing of homes and businesses within twenty meters of the path caused damage to almost 2,000 buildings. Homes were completely destroyed by the government’s command (BRAC). Whenever I cross the chairman goli road from Mohakhali to Banani, the massive transformation from a poor, area to a structured, sophisticated area indicates power dynamics.

Methodology

Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were used to perform this study. We conducted interviews with persons of all genders, occupations, and ages to have a better grasp of the affairs of Korail Slum. I have cited Lutfun Nahar Lata, Lefebvre, and a few more published articles to support my position. For security purposes, I left the interlocutors’ identities ambiguous.

Analysis

Many different types of people have lived in the city for a while, and the majority of them relocated there because of a range of socioeconomic and environmental factors, including a lack of available land, river erosion, and natural catastrophes. People from a variety of districts, including Barisal, Faridpur, Sherpur, Barguna, Bhola, Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Chandpur, and Kishoreganj, reside in the slum. Among the residents of the slums, I observed a strong feeling of districtism. One of the migrants from Barisal who participated in the interview explained why he left his hometown. He claimed to have immigrated here with his father when he was a little boy and has since spent more than 27 years living in the Korail slum, where he also operates a modest tea shop. Since they were both born and raised in the same neighborhood, they have a strong social link. They even have a child in common. They continue to live in a state of ambiguity, nevertheless. Unfortunately, funding is scarce, and creating housing options for the urban poor necessitates a drawn-out political process. The housing delivery method is still unsuccessful since governmental and commercial developers favor employing labor in feed storage. I made an effort to identify some of the key components of their unstable living situation throughout the investigation.

The Area’s Employment Pattern

According to the respondents questioned, almost all of the slum dwellers are blue-collar workers. Most of them are rickshaw pullers, household workers, garment workers, and domestic staff,

which is the most common profession category. Those who are rickshaw pullers do not have any education or formal training. The other major groups are 21% of people who work in garment factories and another 17% of people who are street hawkers. According to a study, 13.8% are drivers of various types of vehicles, such as personal car drivers and CNG drivers (Sinthia). Housewives are active in domestic chores and work as maids in the Gulshan and Banani areas. The first interlocutor, who has a tiny tea station, makes a maximum of 10,000 BDT per month, with monthly housing expenses, utilities, and his two children’s schooling totaling roughly 12000–15000 BDT. “I take a loan every month and pay it back when I have extra money from a part-time job as a night watchman,” he said about how he pays for all of his bills. Others are in a similar predicament. The poor spend the majority of their income on food, as the minimum food expenditure is TK 600–1500 and the maximum is TK 8000. Housing is the second most important source of expense as per their monthly income level, and living in this area is expensive. It is important to note that a large percentage of slum dwellers are fourth-class government employees who are compelled to live in the slum due to insufficient family income.

Structure of the Households

The condition of the houses is cramped and inadequate where  most of the families share a single room with 4-5 other family members. Rahman & Hasan (2016) investigated the conditions of Korail housing where they found that the houses are made of low-quality tins, bamboo, plastics which are very prone to collapse and not sustainable. Along with that, for sharing the rooms with multiple members has made the slum dwellwers more vulnerable spreading diseases such skin infections, as well as water-borne disease like diarrhoea.