Dhaka world's fastest growing big city -World Bank

DHAKA, June 29 (Reuters) Bangladesh's capital Dhaka is the world's fastest growing major city, drawing 300,000 to 400,000 mostly poor migrants annually, a World Bank study said.

These migrants provide critical manpower for the city's industries and services, but also put pressure on the city's infrastructure, public services, and habitable land, said the report which was distributed today.

The study entitled ''Dhaka: Improving living conditions for the urban poor'', said urgent measures were required to address the vital needs of the rapidly growing urban poor.

Access to shelter, basic services, and a living wage are major challenges for the poor. Some 70 per cent of slum dwellers do not have access to piped water, 90 per cent do not have access to sewage lines, the study said.

Crime in Dhaka is particularly affecting the poor. Some 93 per cent of slum dwellers have experienced crime, according to slum victimisation survey.

Government officials say most of the migrants come to the city in search of shelter and jobs after losing their homes to the fury of rivers that swallow large chunks of land every year, or after selling land to buy food for their families.

Most rural Bangladeshis do not have regular work throughout the year, they said.

Dhaka is one of the fastest growing cities in the world with a population of more than 11 million, the United Nations Population Fund said in its annual 2007 report released on Wednesday.

''As in many Asian countries, more than one third of the urban people in Bangladesh live in congested or slum areas fighting against poverty and inadequate shelter,'' it said.

The report said in Bangladesh about 27 per cent of the total population live in urban areas and the urban population growth is projected to be 3.5 per cent per year up to 2010.

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