Malgudam, along the rail lines (3682636585)

Squatting in Bangladesh occurs when

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

make

informal settlements Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...

known as "bastees" on the periphery of cities such as

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

and

Khulna Khulna ( bn, খুলনা, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of Khulna District and Khulna Division. Khulna's economy is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 b ...

. As of 2013, almost 35 per cent of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

's urban population lived in informal settlements.

History

Squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

in the territory which would become

has a long history, reaching back to the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. After the Partition of Bengal in 1947, Muslims migrated to what became

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

. In contemporary times, squatting since the 1971

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

has resulted from factors such as migration from rural areas to urban ones, the lack of affordable housing, bad governance and natural disasters. As well as informal settlements on the ground, there are

rooftop slum Rooftop slum () or penthouse slum generally refers to illegal housing on the rooftops of apartment buildings. In Hong Kong, some people are unable to afford traditional apartments and are forced to wait years for affordable public housing. They ...

s and boat squatters. There are also rural squatters who make land grabs. During the

Bangladesh famine of 1974 The Bangladesh famine of 1974 began in March 1974 and ended in about December of the same year. The famine is considered one of the worst in the 20th century; it was characterised by massive flooding along the Brahmaputra River as well as high ...

, flooding affected 80 per cent of the country and almost 100,000 people were displaced to 183 camps in

. After the flooding subsided, many refugees decided to live in

on the periphery of Dhaka rather than going home. These are known as "bastees". At the time this was the only available option since there was already a housing deficit of 47,195 units and little option to rent, except in the innercity

slums A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...

. Thus ten per cent of Dhaka's population were squatters in 1974. The following year, the government began a forcible resettlement program which moved 200,000 squatters either back to their villages or into camps at

Demra Demra ( bn, ডেমরা) is a ( metropolitan) Thana of Dhaka city, The capital of Bangladesh. It consists of Ward No 64,65(part),67,68,69 and 70 of Dhaka South City Corporation.Demra is Situated in The Eastern Border area of Dhaka City. H ...

, Mirpur and

Tongi Tongi ( bn, টঙ্গী) is a major township in Gazipur District, Gazipur, Bangladesh, with a population of 350,000. It hosts the Biswa Ijtema and features a Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industry Corporation, BSCIC industrial area, which prod ...

. Whilst most resettled people stayed in the camps, this did not stop informal settlements growing in Dhaka. In the early 1990s, the city of

had a population of just over 1.5 million, of which there were an estimated 66,676 squatters living in 69 areas. As of 2013, almost 35 per cent of Bangladesh's urban population lived in informal settlements. In

, the largest squatted area was Supraghat, with 15,875 residents.

References

{{Authority control

Housing in Bangladesh