00:00:19 This is Bangladesh.

It is a state that you don't hear much about, almost entirely

00:00:55 At this point is Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Dhaka is a true megalopolis, one of
the largest on the planet. Overpopulation boosts economy in Dhaka city. In our GDP 40% of
contributions come from Dhaka. Nearly 24 million people live within its urban area, but its size is far
from adequate for its population. This city, the capital, Dhaka, which has a population density of
approximately 48,000 people per square kilometre, has long since outgrown its limits. And in a city
where the structural capacity is not designed for more than 15,000 people per square kilometer, we
have already exceeded this by 48,000.

00:01:43 And this is across the entire network. In some places it even reaches 60 thousand.
For comparison, in the most densely populated city in Italy, Naples, there are less than 8,000 people
per square kilometer. Simply put, Dhaka has little space for a frightening number of people. In fact,
Dhaka is among the most overcrowded megacities in the world, with all the consequences that this
entails. One of the big drawbacks of population density is that it pushes a lot of already needy people
into unlivable situations.

00:02:15 As a result, this population density has become the main reason for the inhuman
living conditions of 44% of the city's population. The most basic services such as water supply,
playgrounds or simply breathing clean air become impossible or impracticable in these conditions.
Not only that, the high concentration of human activities makes Dhaka one of the most polluted
cities on Earth, as well as the worst overall in terms of air quality. People, water, land and air. On
these four fronts, overpopulation creates a situation that is impossible to recover from, no matter
how advanced or innovative the technology used.

00:03:01 They also significantly increase the type of diseases that we call non-communicable
diseases, threats to public health, obesity, diabetes or hypertension. And because of the
environmental impact, as the younger generations grow up, they will lose the capacity of their
organs at a very young age. This means that the situation becomes a factor in producing an almost
completely debilitated generation. If we consider all of this, if you consider all these factors, it cannot
actually be considered a city or a livable town, so in this sense population density is a key factor in
making a territory uninhabitable.

00:03:43 The picture we have discovered is truly tragic. We asked ourselves, how is it possible
that Dhaka is so overpopulated? And above all, is it really the hell everyone talks about? To
understand this, the only solution, clearly, was to go to Dhaka. But organizing a documentary directly
there would have been extremely complicated and logistically complex. And so we decided to
inaugurate a new format here on the channel. We relied on a local reporter, Naimur, who helped us
discover the chaotic streets of the capital of Bangladesh, making us see the city through the eyes of
those who live there every day.

00:04:20 This is Dhaka, the most overpopulated megalopolis in the world. The name of the
poem is Khamonshor Chai and it was written in reference to Dhaka. Let the birds speak of the city's
desires, how free it is and how colorful it is. Let the flowers tell their stories as they spread across the
city. And let the butterflies know the essence of their city, as if a small piece of sky was enclosed in
the evening glow. Rows of trees throughout the city, on the canvas of clouds of the six seasons. Let
the city be painted in watercolor and let dreams survive in the cacophony.

00:05:24 It is difficult to imagine a Dhaka like the one described in the poem. However, for
over a millennium, Dhaka was a small settlement on the banks of the Buriganga River. Legend has it
that its name derives from the dacca, a tree that turns fiery red when it flowers. Having become a
river port for the Mughal Empire, Dhaka came under the control of the British colonial empire, which
incorporated all of Bengal into India. In 1971, when Bangladesh declared independence from
Pakistan, Dhaka was very poor and home to less than a million people.

00:05:58 Since then, however, its growth has been frightening. No wonder. At the time,
Bangladesh literally had to be created. Dhaka was to be its original nucleus. The government
encouraged the rural population to migrate to the capital, built in an unregulated manner and
concentrated the country's main companies here. The main purpose of this was to confine the entire
country within Dhaka. So this political negligence or bad judgment has brought us to the current
situation. So overpopulation is reducing space day by day.

00:06:36 And Dhaka's territory is also expanding. Every year nearly 500,000 people arrive in
Dhaka, most of whom are known as climate refugees. Most of them come from coastal areas to the
city. Why are they migrating? For financial support. Those fleeing coastal areas do so because of
increasingly frequent floods. But in Dhaka you won't find anything better. The capital is in fact
surrounded by satellite cities and shanty towns built near the textile industries. It is no coincidence
that garments here are Bangladesh's main export and account for 20% of the national GDP.

00:07:15 But those employed in this sector live in terrible conditions, with starvation wages. In
this regard, a very important detail must be considered. Our housing problem mainly concerns the
lower economic classes. As a result of overpopulation, the price of land has risen significantly. Thus
land has now become a commodity in the free market that plays a crucial role in determining
people's residential opportunities, including access to basic services. The picture is clear. A vicious
circle fueled by the wealthiest segments of the population who, needless to say, are doing quite well
in Dhaka.
00:07:56 But there's more. It is precisely against these privileges that the recent anti-
government protests arose, which even led to the resignation of Prime Minister Hasina. The
government, in a desperate attempt to stop the uprising, has seen fit to turn off the internet in some
areas of the country. We are talking about an action that is not famous for a super-fast connection
and where computer blackouts are clearly the order of the day. But the situation is not limited to
blackouts. There is an additional threat in those areas.

00:08:24 Scam farms, online scam businesses, are widespread in regions such as Bangladesh.
These organizations work to steal digital information and violate the privacy of millions of people,
thus putting their identities and money at risk. And that's where NordVPN comes in. With NordVPN
you can protect your connection and have safe and private browsing in the context of internet blocks
or cyber attacks. But also when you are at home, cozy and warm, especially now that winter is
approaching and with it Christmas.

00:08:50 Luckily, you can enjoy the maximum protection that NordVPN offers with Threat
Protection Pro on Smart TVs, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation, and Xbox. And speaking of
streaming, you will be able to geolocate yourself to one of NordVPN's servers spread across 111
countries to watch content blocked in Italy and bypass any firewalls. In all this, neither Bangladeshi
scammers nor NordVPN will acquire your data or know what you are doing online. This is thanks to
its No Log policy, which has been confirmed again this year.

00:09:18 If you then wanted to book a flight to Bangladesh, for example, to find the best deal
you just need to do some cross-referencing by connecting to servers in countries where the cost of
living is significantly lower, thus bypassing the well-known cookie tracking linked to online price
discrimination. And finally, since in addition to Christmas, Black Friday is also approaching, NordVPN
gives you a gift to use on all the new devices you will have to buy. By clicking on the links in the
description you will get a special discount on Black Friday and a good 4 extra months on all Vienna
plans.

00:09:47 In DACA, the effects of overpopulation go far beyond pollution and housing crisis and
directly impact the middle class. It's definitely a big problem, there are more people here than
expected and where there are more people the number of vehicles increases. People need
transportation like buses or personal cars to get around. Much of the DACA chaos is traffic related.
This is a feature that is often associated with large urban centers in the Indian subcontinent. But here
the situation is out of control.

00:10:20 In addition to being the fifth most congested city globally, DACA also holds the
unconventional record of being the slowest city in the world. And it's not hard to see why. I'm a
student, I have to go to university every day. It usually takes me 30 minutes to get from home to
college. But there is always a lot of traffic on the streets. It takes me at least 3 hours to get to class.
It's a huge waste of time. If we talk about the distance between my home and my office without any
traffic, it is a 15 minute commute.
00:10:54 A very small journey. But to travel the same distance from my home to my office,
taking public transportation or traveling during rush hour, takes more than an hour. There is no real
set travel time. Waiting on public transport is quite uncomfortable. Especially since in our country
the atmosphere is usually very humid. During the summer, waiting on public transport becomes even
more of a challenge. Of all the means of public transportation, buses are particularly uncomfortable.
The seats are packed tightly together, with no legroom whatsoever.

00:11:29 We must physically adapt to the available space. Furthermore, the buses do not even
have a minimum of air conditioning or fans. Getting around Dhaka is a nightmare. Seriously, you
don't dare to imagine living in a place like this. People do not respect traffic rules. People get nervous
when they're stuck in traffic for a long time. It's a problem. They get angry and try to find the fastest
way to get there first. They think they'll get there quicker if they cross the lanes. These violations are
becoming the norm.

00:12:17 There are no automatic traffic lights, there are no secrets. Once upon a time they
existed, but now they no longer exist. As a result, road traffic is managed solely by the traffic police.
As if that were not enough, until the end of 2022 Dhaka did not have a metro and the lines are still
under construction. All things that in a megalopolis contribute to generating enormous disorder that
unfortunately also spreads to other areas of society. Overpopulation has a huge impact on Dhaka's
healthcare system.

00:12:48 Especially on public, government hospitals. Inside these hospitals it is typical to see
scenes of overcrowded rooms. Without its huge population Dhaka probably wouldn't be what it is.
But it is clear that such a status quo is no longer sustainable. The most obvious situation would be to
start building vertically, but here the risk could be that of building a dystopian and even more
claustrophobic metropolis. In any case, there is another solution. And it seems everyone is pretty
much in agreement.

00:13:17 If we want to reduce the population of Dhaka we need to decentralize the city. I
think about 80% of the population of this city comes from outside, from other cities and other
places. So the action of decentralizing is understood as moving offices and institutions to other areas.
All administrative activities need to be decentralized. The Navy office does not need to be in Dhaka.
Even the Coast Guard office does not need to be in Dhaka. As far as government offices are
concerned, offices like the Ministry of Fisheries, Livestock or Agriculture, if they could move these
offices outside of Dhaka or to areas around the capital, then people would not need to come all the
way to Dhaka to get everything done.

00:14:03 If we could follow the examples of other countries like Indonesia or Egypt and move
the capital out of Dhaka, this could significantly reduce the pressure on the city as a large number of
people would move to the new capital and this could improve the living conditions in Dhaka. Of
course we are talking about possibilities and perhaps there is a lack of political will to implement a
decentralization that in monetary terms would not be so profitable. Especially in recent years we
have become accustomed to pessimism, after all we live in a world that seems to be falling apart.

00:14:36 In our eyes, Dhaka is a shining example of this, a reminder of how we would like our
future to be. Nevertheless, Dhaka has wealth that few can match. It is the people who actually make
Dhaka. We love seeing people. People on the street are walking, running, people from different
classes. It is these people together who create possibilities. There's a lot of frustration, a lot of things
we want, but still there's hope. Yes, because people have a tiring life path, a life path that
nevertheless creates a story.

00:15:20 Many cities don't have this history. So it is not just a city of problems, but it is also a
city of hope. The hope that as soon as possible the red sun will rise again over Bengal and break the
grey pall that hovers over the most overpopulated megalopolis in the world. And if Dhaka can save
itself, well, so can we. Per aspera