Dhaka City Corporation Research Articles

Urban Morphological Change Analysis of Dhaka City, Bangladesh, Using Space Syntax

This article is based on a study of the morphological changes of Dhaka City, the capital of Bangladesh. The main objective of the research is to study the transformation of urban morphology in Dhaka City from 1947 to 2007. Three sample wards (18, 19 and 72) of Dhaka City Corporation are strategically selected as the study areas. Ward 72 has an indigenous type of organic settlement, whereas ward 19 is a planned area, and ward 18 represents a mixed (both planned and informal) type of settlement. In this research, the transformation of urban settlement pattern is examined through space syntax. The results show that the organic settlements (ward 72) are highly integrated both in terms of the local and global syntactic measures (lowest standard deviation for local and global integration, with the highest intelligibility values), and are more connectivity. The scenario is opposite in the case of planned settlements. The characteristics of mixed areas (ward 18) lie in between the organic and planned settlements. Therefore, in summary, it can be stated that the integration, connectivity and intelligibility measures of Dhaka City are found to be high, medium and low for the indigenous, mixed and planned settlement types; respectively.

Chromium In Urban Soil-Plant-Water Ecosystems

Heavy metal pollution is associated with public health concerns. The study was conducted at the vicinity of the Tejgaon industrial area (8 km2) adjacent to Dhaka City Corporation. To investigate the seasonal extent of soil-water ecosystems pollution with chromium discharged from the industries, municipality, and slums, and its transfer co-efficiency into plants or crops. Composite soil, plant and water were randomly collected from industrial sites by GPS guided sampling procedure during wet and dry seasons, processed, and analyzed. Soils were analyzed for particle size distribution (sand, silt and clay), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total organic carbon, water-soluble, ammonium acetate extractable, DTPA extractable and total chromium. Plant samples were analyzed for total Cr concentration. Water samples were analyzed for pH, EC, and dissolved Cr concentration. During wet season, the average Cr concentration was 0.16, 0.72, 1.51 and 68 mg/kg, and in the dry season the concentrations were 6.60, 12.44, 23.1 and 248.3 mg/kg as water-soluble, NH4OAc and DTPA extractable and total, respectively. Total Cr concentration was 248.3 mg/kg, which was more than 2 times higher than the tolerable limit. Plant samples accumulated more and tolerated higher amounts of Cr during dry season. During dry season, more than 47% of water samples were found above the WHO standard level. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbas.v37i2.17558 Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Vol. 37, No. 2, 173-187, 2013

Household Waste Management in High-Rise Residential Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Users? Perspective

The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is primarily responsible for collecting and managing waste in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A significant amount of waste in Dhaka is not collected due to lack of infrastructure, funds and collection vehicles. Despites Dhaka’s limited waste management service, community based door-to-door waste collection from households to local waste bins is considered as a success. Informal waste recycling systems is also highly effective in waste recycling and job creations for the poor. Even though both horizontal and vertical expansion is prevalent in Dhaka, there has been an increasing trend in vertical expansion of the city in recent years as horizontal expansion is not possible due to barriers such as the built up urban core and low lying flood plains. Very limited number of studies has been conducted on waste management system in high-rise residential buildings in Dhaka. Therefore, this study focuses on the waste management scenario of high-rise residential buildings in Dhaka. The study is particularly interested in the socio-demographic, cultural and environmental features in high-rise residential buildings. The study identified key areas in waste management systems in high-rise residential buildings which is the avenue for future studies for integrating waste management strategies in high density residential development in Dhaka. Based on the findings, the study recommends a further examination of the integration of waste management infrastructure in the high-rise residential building development in Dhaka.

Factors associated with treatment delay among tuberculosis patients referred from a tertiary hospital in Dhaka City: a cross-sectional study.

A tertiary medical college hospital in Dhaka City Corporation area, Dhaka, Bangladesh. To identify factors associated with treatment delay among tuberculosis (TB) patients referred from a public diagnostic centre to various DOTS treatment centres in Dhaka City Corporation area, Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 123 patients referred from the Dhaka Medical College Hospital to different DOTS treatment centres during July-October 2012. Factors associated with treatment delay (>1 day between referral and initiation of DOTS treatment) were identified. Among the 123 patients referred from the hospital, treatment delay was found to range between 2 and 17 days (median 2). In bivariate analysis, treatment delay was found to be significantly associated with the patient's diagnostic category. In multivariate analysis, World Health Organization ( WHO) Category II patients were found to be four times more likely to have treatment delay than WHO Category I patients, and married patients were much more likely to have treatment delays than unmarried patients. The study findings suggest that the main factors contributing to treatment delay among TB patients were history of previous anti-tuberculosis treatment, marital status and age. Patients should be given extensive information about the dangers of treatment delay before referring them to DOTS treatment centres.

Air Quality and Climate Impacts Due to CNG Conversion of Motor Vehicles in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Dhaka had recently experienced rapid conversion of its motor vehicle fleet to run on compressed natural gas (CNG). This paper quantifies ex-post the air quality and climate benefits of the CNG conversion policy, including monetary valuations, through an impact pathway approach. Around 2045 (1665) avoided premature deaths in greater Dhaka (City Corporation) can be attributed to air quality improvements from the CNG conversion policy in 2010, resulting in a saving of around USD 400 million. Majority of these health benefits resulted from the conversion of high-emitting diesel vehicles. CNG conversion was clearly detrimental from climate change perspective using the changes in CO2 and CH4 only (CH4 emissions increased); however, after considering other global pollutants (especially black carbon), the climate impact was ambiguous. Uncertainty assessment using input distributions and Monte Carlo simulation along with a sensitivity analysis show that large uncertainties remain for climate impacts. For our most likely estimate, there were some climate costs, valued at USD 17.7 million, which is an order of magnitude smaller than the air quality benefits. This indicates that such policies can and should be undertaken on the grounds of improving local air pollution alone and that precautions should be taken to reduce the potentially unintended increases in GHG emissions or other unintended effects.

Relationship between Age and Serum Intact Parathyroid Hormone in Adult Obese Males

Background: Obesity is a common health problem in urban population nowadays. Objective: The present study was carried out to asses the relationship of age with obesity in adult males. Methods: This cross sectional study was done in department of Physiology, Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka. For this purpose, 60 male subjects within the age range of 25 to 50 years were included in the study. Among them 30 non-obese, apparently healthy subjects were selected as control (Group A) and 30 obese subjects as case (Group B). Case and control subjects were selected from the Urban Primary Health Care Project (UPHCP), PA-2, Dhaka City Corporation, Dhaka and by personal contact during the period from January 2010 to December 2010. All the subjects were apparently healthy. Result: In this study, obese males showed significant negative correlation (p=0.032, r= -392) but non obese male showed non-significant (p=0.719, r= +0.069) positive correlation with age. Conclusion: This study concludes that, Serum iPTH level decreases with age in obese males. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jdnmch.v18i2.16019 J. Dhaka National Med. Coll. Hos. 2012; 18 (02): 27-29

Characterization of Leachate and Solid Waste of Dhaka City Corporation Landfill Site for Solid Waste Stabilization

Rapid urbanization of Dhaka city has created immense pressure on its urban services including solid waste disposal. Both city corporations (Dhaka North, DNCC and Dhaka South, DSCC) have been facing tremendous problem to maintain sustainable waste management over the last few decades. At present, the DNCC and DSCC dump 68% of the total sold waste to the sanitary landfill site at Matuail. Decomposed solid waste is a potential source of heavy metals and toxic chemicals that pollute the soil as well as the surrounding water body. For environmental sustainability, it is now essential to reduce the load of decomposed solid waste at landfill site through the conversion of waste into re-usable product. Proper characterization of solid wastes is pre-requisite for efficient management and solid waste stabilization. In this paper, it is therefore aimed to investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of decomposed solid waste and leachate collected from Matuail landfill sites. The average concentrations of Fe, Cu, and Ni in leachate samples collected from treated pond were found to be 19.11mg/l, 0.71mg/l, and 2.5mg/l respectively exceeding Bangladesh standards. The presence of heavy metals in decomposed solid waste was also found to be significant. In order to reduce the scale of pollution it is recommended to stabilize solid waste to use it as a construction material. Physical properties that were analyzed in this study will also be helpful for selecting stabilizing additive for perfect stabilization.

Identification and Monitoring the Change of Land Use Pattern Using Remote Sensing and GIS: A Case Study of Dhaka City

Dhaka is one of the fastest growing megacities of the world with a dense population over 15 million. Being the capital of a developing country like Bangladesh, it is experiencing multi-dimensional problems such as over urbanization, traffic congestion, water logging, solid waste disposal, black smoke from brick kilns and industrial emissions, sound pollution, pollution of water bodies by industrial discharge and the newly added calamity, building collapse. Dhaka is a sheer example of having poor legislative actions, inefficient management and lack of public awareness, which leads the urbanization to an unplanned and resource consuming development. This paper presents an integrated study of urbanization trends in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, by using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS). This study explores the land use change pattern of Dhaka City Corporation over 1990-2010, through interactive supervised land cover classification using Landsat images by ArcGIS 10. The remotely detected land use/cover change from 1990 to 2010 shows that Dhaka is gradually changing as vegetative cover and open spaces have been transformed into building areas, low land and water bodies into reclaimed built up lands. These changes are mainly governed by unplanned urban expansion. Keywords - ArcGIS 10.0, Dhaka City Corporation, GIS, Land Use Pattern, Remote Sensing.

Feeding Pattern and Nutritional Status of Under Two Years Slum Children

Background: Feeding practices play a pivotal role in determining the optimal development of infants. Through this study the information helps to make planning to decrease malnutrition and way of proper feeding in reaching the target of MDG 4. Objective: The aim of the's present study was to assess feeding pattern and nutritional status of under two years children. Methodology: This cross sectional descriptive study was carried out in one slum of Dhaka City Corporation from January to June 2010. The study included 125 apparently healthy children and their mothers as respondents. Result: Among all the mothers 120 (96%) respondents fed their child colostrum; 54 (45.0%) respondents initiated breastfeeding within one hour of birth.105 (84%) respondents gave prelacteal feeding. only 20 (16%) respondents practiced exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. It was revealed that 80 (64%) mothers fed their child complementary feeding at the age 6-7 months. Nutritional status of the children was in -<3SD including17.4% stunting, 19.1% wasting and 24.3% underweight. Conclusion: Traditional cultural barriers is still existed with poor practice of exclusive breast feeding while complementary feeding pattern had bizarre pattern. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jssmc.v4i1.11994 J Shaheed Suhrawardy Med Coll, 2012;4(1):3-6

Modeling Urban Land Cover Growth Dynamics Using Multi‑Temporal Satellite Images: A Case Study of Dhaka, Bangladesh

The primary objective of this research is to predict and analyze the future urban growth of Dhaka City using the Landsat satellite images of 1989, 1999 and 2009. Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and its surrounding impact areas have been selected as the study area. At the beginning, a fisher supervised classification method has been applied to prepare the base maps with five land cover classes. In the next stage, three different models have been implemented to simulate the land cover map of Dhaka city of 2009. These have been named as “Stochastic Markov (St_Markov)” Model, “Cellular Automata Markov (CA_Markov)” Model and “Multi Layer Perceptron Markov (MLP_Markov)” Model. Then the best-fitted model has been selected by implementing a method to compare land cover categories in three maps: a reference map of time 1, a reference map of time 2 and a simulation map of time 2. This is how the “Multi Layer Perceptron Markov (MLP_Markov)” Model has been qualified as the most appropriate model for this research. Later, using the MLP_Markov model, the land cover map of 2019 has been predicted. The MLP_Markov model extrapolates that built-up area increases from 46% to 58% of the total study area during 2009–2019.

Assessment of the Heavy Metal Pollution in the Sediment samples of Major Canals in Dhaka City by Multivariate Statistical Analysis

In this study, the levels of selected metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Fe and Pb) concentrations were measured by Flame Emission Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FL-AAS) in sediment (sludge) samples collected from 10 different Canals in and around the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) area of Bangladesh. The analysis result shows that Cr, Cu and Pb were present as major pollutants in the some canals in the DCC area with high concentration levels, while Cd, Mn and Fe emerged as minor pollutants. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster analysis were used to assess the metal contamination in the canals. Positive correlations were found between Mn–Fe (r = 0.860), Pb–Cu (r = 0.786), Pb–Cd (r = 0.398) and Cu-Cd (r = 0.227) pairs. The present metal concentration in the canal sediments data shows that Cr, Pb and Pb levels are higher than recommended sediment quality guideline by USEPA but pollutants concentrations in the sludge are below the prescribed hazard limit provided by USEPA for land application of sludge. Keywords : Canals, sludge, heavy metal, Principal component analysis, Cluster analysis

GIS and RS Combined Analysis for Flood Prediction Mapping – A Case Study of Dhaka City Corporation, Bangladesh

2 Abstract- Flood is a type of hydro-meteorological phenomenon and it is very hazardous as it can cause devastating losses in property and human lives. Fast and unplanned development aggravates the consequences of flooding by increasing the monetary costs of losses. These kinds of losses are especially high in urban areas which would be possible to ease with proper planning and management of the urban structures. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) based modeling and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques can help by supplying maps and techniques as assistance to make early warning for risk areas. In this case study, different criteria have been analyzed that have potential impact on the amount of devastation, such as the elevation of the areas, flooding depth, building density, terrain slope, soil type, land use types etc. Based on different factors analysis, results are visualized with the help of GIS and RS presentation and dissemination techniques. In addition, the impacts of different factors on flooding itself are also discussed. Finally, a flood prediction map for Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) in Bangladesh was prepared using the Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) method with particular focus on the different criteria that influence the flooding in Dhaka city.

Seasonal Variation of Heavy Metal Concentrations in Water and Plant Samples Around Tejgaon Industrial Area of Bangladesh

The Tejgaon industrial area is located within the Dhaka City Corporation and is about 5 km north of the city centre. Heavy metal concentration at different sampling points varied in different seasons and the maximum amount was observed in the dry season (January). Total Fe, Pb, Cd, Mn, Ni, Zn, Cu and Cr concentrations in water samples during dry season ranged from 0.11 - 2.78, 0.733 - 2.171, 0.05 - 0.1, 0.019 - 0.34, 0.02 - 0.17, 0.01 - 0.348, 0.10 - 0.846, and 0.02 - 0.09 mg/l respectively. The present study revealed that the pollution level was very much alarming and increasing slowly day by day. According to WHO guidelines, during both wet and dry seasons 100% water samples were found in the group of "in excess of tolerable level" for Pb (0.01 mg/l). 63, 42, 79, 58 and 95% water samples were found in the group of 'in excess of tolerable level' during dry season for Cu, Ni, Cd, Cr and Mn. Only 26% of the plant samples had Ni (< 20 mg/kg) in the normal range and 74% (? 20 - 30 mg/kg) plant samples were found in the group of "in excess of tolerable level" during dry season which was 63% (? 20 - 30 mg/kg) during wet season. Cadmium and Pb in plant samples found in the group of "in excess of tolerable level" was 26, 79% (> 10 mg kg), and 33, 59% (> 20 mg/kg) during wet and dry season, respectively. Plant samples accumulated more and tolerated higher amounts of Cr during dry season. Average concentration of Fe, Mn and Zn at different locations and plant species were 220.81, 279.33 and 239.81 mg/kg and 212.0, 313.43 and 159.19 mg/kg during wet and dry seasons, respectively. Kalmi, water hyacinth, grass (in wet season) and Boro rice, Cabbage (in dry season) accumulated the maximum concentration of Fe and Mn. In the rainy season the pollution was lower because of heavy rainfall and flushed out through the canal into the adjoining vast flood zone.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbas.v35i1.7968Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Vol.35, No.1, 19-41, 2011

Climate Disaster Resilience of Dhaka City Corporation: An Empirical Assessment at Zone Level

AbstractAlong with the threat of climate change and its related hazards, rapid urban growth is leading to unplanned urbanization, high population density and environmental degradation of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Already the severity of climate‐related hazards, especially flooding, is increasing. It is predicted that among the coastal mega‐cities Dhaka would be the most vulnerable to climate change. This research measures the existing level of climate disaster resilience of Dhaka City Corporation by assessing the problems and potentialities in different sectors. The Climate Disaster Resilience Index (CDRI) was calculated for 10 different zones of Dhaka City Corporation. CDRI analysis comprises five different dimensions (physical, social, economic, institutional and natural), 25 parameters and 125 variables (development issues). Findings show that besides location, the utility services, accessibility to roads, housing and land‐use, health, social capital and environmental conditions are each playing a role in determining the resilience level of different zones. It is interesting to note that the planned residential areas have relatively higher levels of climate disaster resilience, while old parts of the city and densely populated low income areas have lower levels of resilience. Dhaka, being the primate city of the country, continuously faces numerous challenges and opportunities. It is expected that by utilizing CDRI results in policy formulation and development planning, these challenges could be minimized and opportunities enhanced, leading to a more resilient city in the future.

Advanced landfill leachate treatment with least sludge production using modified Fenton process

This research was undertaken to investigate various operating conditions of Fenton treatment process for minimizing the sludge production and maximizing COD as well as colour removal from landfill leachate. Sample was collected from Matuaill and fill site, one of the major landfill sites of Dhaka City Corporation. For optimum pH value of 5 and optimum dosages of Fenton reagents having H2O2/Fe2+ molar ratio of 1.3 the highest removal of COD and colour were found 68% and 87% respectively with massive sludge production of 75%. The COD and colour removal efficiencies with a three-step dosing of reagents were 11% and 7% higher respectively with 17% less sludge production than those with single dosing of individual Fenton treatment process. Also recycling of Fenton sludge enhanced COD removal efficiency by 6% having similar colour removal efficiency and reduced sludge production significantly by 38%. With all optimum parameters, the highest removal of COD and colour were found 84% and 93% respectively with sludge production of 30% through multiple dosing of Fenton reagents with sludge recirculation. Conversely, pretreatment with extended aeration before Fenton process provided the achievement of 89% COD and 97% colour removals having less sludge volume reduction.

A Study on Factors for Travel Time Variability in Dhaka City Corporation Area

Knowledge of travel time variability is valuable for improving the reliability of traffic information services and increasing the accuracy of travel time predictions. The paper attempts to explore the travel time variability in Dhaka city with the data collected by the probe vehicle. A comprehensive investigation of travel time distribution was conducted in terms of various time windows. With respect to travel time variability, approximately each mean travel time level has a certain variability associated with it. It has been observed that the higher travel times in the morning off-peak and afternoon peak have the lower coefficient of variance but the smaller mean travel time in the morning peak has the higher variability than other times of the day. The travel time variability has also been investigated by multiplicative nonlinear regression model. To establish the model, delay time (delay), volume-capacity (V/C) ratio and congestion index (CI), which is actual travel time divided by free flow time, were considered as explanatory variables while logarithm of travel time was used as dependent variable. Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Vol. 3, Dec 2010, pp. 53-64

Calculation of bright roof-tops for solar PV applications in Dhaka Megacity, Bangladesh

Abstract Bangladesh has already been known as the country of power crisis. Although the country's electricity generation capacity is 4275 MW, around 3000–3500 MW of electricity can be generated against the demand of more than 5000 MW. The country's power is being generated mostly with conventional fuel (82% indigenous natural gas, 9% imported oil, 5% coal) and renewable sources (4% hydropower and solar). But recently a remarkable decline of the indigenous gas takes place, which rapidly aggravates electricity generation. Dhaka, the capital as well as prime city of the country with its nearly 14 million populations faces the worst situation due to the shortfall of electricity. Around 1000–1200 MW of electricity is supplied to Dhaka Megacity, while the existing demand is nearly 2000 MW. As a result frequent load shedding takes place and most of the service sectors in the city are interrupted, which has recently created immense dissatisfaction among the city-dwellers. Given the city's power crisis and geophysical situations, applications of either stand-alone or grid connected PV systems would be very effective and pragmatic for power supplement. The conservative calculation of bright roof-tops from the Quickbird Scene 2006 of Dhaka city indicates that the city offers 10.554 km 2 of bright roof-tops within the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) ward area (134.282 km 2 ). The application of stand-alone PV systems with 75 Wp solar modules can generate nearly 1000 MW of electrical power, which can substantially meet the city's power demand.

Microbial characterization of solid waste

Segregation of solid waste at source is not a common practice in Bangladesh. Nonsegregation of solid waste creates threat to surrounding environment To identify the possiblethreat, leachates were collected from different sources viz. household bin, Dhaka citycorporation (DCC) bin, hospital waste bin and dumping ground; and analyzed for microbialcharacterization. High concentration of total coliform (9.0x I 04 -1.1 x I 08 CFU/100ml) andfecal coliform (5.0xl04-6.0xl07 CFU/I00mL) were obtained in all samples, Nematodes werefound in DCC bin (5200 No/L) and dumping ground (5600 No/L) samples. Protozoa andSalmonella spp/Shigella spp. were not found in any sample. However, Pseudomonas spp waspresent in the leachates of household bin, DCC bin and dumping ground.

Modelling of electrical energy recovery from urban solid waste system: The case of Dhaka city

This paper presents a system dynamics computer model to predict population growth, solid waste production, electricity generation from solid waste and percentage of total electricity demand supplied from the solid waste of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Simulated solid waste generation in Dhaka agrees well with values reported by the Dhaka City Corporation. Simulated results show that population, solid waste generation and electricity generation potential from solid waste all increase with time, but percentage of total electricity demand supplied from solid waste decreases with time. However, MSW could still supply a significant portion of the electricity demand of Dhaka. Adoption of policy for electricity recovery from urban solid waste should be dictated by the economic adoption of the technology for electricity generation from the waste and the environmental implications. The model can be used for analysing electrical energy recovery from urban solid waste management.

Strengthening Financial Capability of a Municipality: A Case Study of Dhaka City Corporation

The universal complaint that the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) i.e. City Corporations and Municipalities (Pourashavas in Bangladesh) in developing countries are in dire need of resources not only for investment to meet the increasing demand of growing urban population but also for maintenance of the existing services. Municipal finance in Bangladesh has so far not been extensively studied. For this research, Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has been chosen for a case study. The research has investigated on how the financial capability of City Corporation can be strengthened. Investigation was made on various sources of revenue, existing state of tax base, and various problems pertaining to income and expenditure of Dhaka City Corporation. The study has explored potential sources of financing and made some suggestions to enhance local initiatives in strengthening financial capability.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbip.v2i0.9574Journal of Bangladesh Institute of Planners Vol. 2, December 2009, pp. 136-144