Local Expert Perceptions on Slum Communities and Slum Evictions in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Case of Korail Slum

Presenter:

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Abstract

In Bangladesh, millions of people are forced to migrate from rural areas to urban slums due to poverty, river erosion, loss of cultivable land and livelihoods, land- grabbing and large developmental and industrial projects such as mining, building dams etc. This paper concentrates on one of the oldest and biggest slums in Dhaka, the Korail slum. In the course of the years, parts of it have been evicted several times, and there have been violent confrontations between the government authorities and the residents. Based on two months of fieldwork including interviewing representatives, staff members and practitioners of several NGOs working directly with slum issues, forced displacement and migration; also experts, researchers, academicians, academician activists working with the same issues, this paper examines local expert’s perception on slum communities and evictions. Findings show what they think about how this issue can be tackled in a more peaceful, practical and effective way. Thus, it will ensure the interests of both the slum communities and the government.