Why nearly a-fifth of people from Barishal moved to Dhaka

Barisal tops all the divisions in terms of migration to Dhaka, with 18.62% of its locals currently residing in the capital city, according to a report of the Population and Housing Census 2022. 

Mymensingh stands as the second highest division with 14.43% of its locals living in the city. 

Rangpur, Chattogram and Rajshahi follow with lower percentages. Sylhet has the lowest percentage of migrants to Dhaka, followed by Khulna.   

The increasing number of internal migrants to Dhaka is pushing up the population density in the capital city, which is currently at more than 30 thousand per square kilometre. Such a high population density has a negative impact on the citizens and their standard of living. 

Demographic experts have found mainly two reasons behind Barishal division's migration to Dhaka division: one is the uneven development in the country, and the other is the high frequency of natural calamities borne out of climate change.   

Recently, the government has conducted a research titled "Determinants of Internal Migration: Evidence from Bangladesh'' based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2016-17, to understand the factors behind internal migration. The study found that 66.2% have migrated from rural to urban areas for greater scope and opportunities, including higher wages and better living standards. 

The study recommended bringing down standards of living differentials between rural and urban areas for sustainable development balance. To do so, the government will have to implement the Amar Gram Amar Sohor and Ashrayan Project and establish 100 Economic Zones across the country.  

Amar Gram Amar Sohor will improve urban facilities such as health, education and utilities in the rural areas. The Ashrayan Project will provide landless people with houses so that they do not have to come to Dhaka. 

The study also recommends implementation of Economic Zones across the country, this will provide people in rural areas with job opportunities, so they will not be driven to migrate to Dhaka in search of work.   

However, demographic experts said that the trend of migration from Barishal division to the capital is nothing new, and the number of migrants from Barisal is increasing day by day. They say the number could go up in the near future, which is an alarming prospect.  

Uneven development and lack of opportunities  

Professor Mohammad Bellal Hossain, former chairman of the Department of Population Science at Dhaka University said that the Population and Housing Census 2011 found that the population growth in Barisal division is zero, meaning the population did not increase.

The increase and decrease of the population of an area depends on three demographic phenomena: fertility rate, mortality rate and migration. He noted that the birth and mortality rates did not come down to zero. 

"We found that the main reason behind the zero-population growth is out-migration from Barisal," said Professor Hossain.

There are several broad push and pull factors of migration at work. The main factor is that industrialisation did not take place in Barisal to the degree that it did in other areas in the country, as a result, job opportunities are low. When jobless people come to know from their relatives or acquaintances that there are better job opportunities in Dhaka, migration becomes a necessary option. 

Furthermore, the living standard of some slums in Dhaka is higher than that of villages. When it comes to migration, the transportation system also plays an important part. 

"When one gets electricity, running water, access to technologies like the television or refrigerator, and earns good wages, they want to come to Dhaka," said Professor Hossain. "In the case of Barisal's migration, the low-cost of travel via waterways encourage people to migrate to Dhaka or other cities, like Chattogram."

From the perspective of urbanisation, Dhaka has become a primary city. Dhaka's contribution to the GDP is around 40%. The economic life in Dhaka is vibrant and for this reason, people are coming from different parts of the country. 

"If we ensured a balanced development, then people from Barisal and Mymensingh would not need to come to Dhaka and job-related migration would not take place," said Professor Hossain.

What needs to be done is to ensure balanced regional development or industrialisation, so that these people can get job opportunities in their own areas. When people have job opportunities in their hometowns, it can benefit them in a number of ways. Namely, their living standard will be much improved because they will be able to live on their own property, in better conditions, and not have to pay house rent. 

Forced migration

Climate change-related adversities have a huge impact on the internal migration from Barisal to Dhaka too. Climate change-induced natural calamities like frequent cyclones and the intrusion of saline water into fresh water and farmland have had a significant impact on the rate of migration. 

Professor Rabiul Haque, the chairman of the Department of Population Science, University of Dhaka, said that the internal migration rate from Barisal to Dhaka is historically high according to previous population censuses. 

"Recently the rate has gone up because the frequency of climate change-induced natural calamities has increased in the coastal belt," said Professor Haque. 

Due to frequent exposure to natural disasters, people have begun migrating more and more. A section of people are leaving for a better, safer place since Barisal is forecasted to be increasingly affected by climate change in the future. Another group is migrating because they have nothing left to lose. 

The climate change-induced natural calamities have also caused an occupation change to a great extent. Men who once used to be fishermen are now looking for alternative jobs.

People in the Barisal belt are most at risk of two factors. One is the economic loss caused by losing their houses and farmland to river erosion and saline intrusion. On the other hand, they are also forced to move their houses because of river erosion, which is expensive.

"I conducted research and found that if a family moved their house to somewhere else in the area, the single move would cost them an average of Tk65,000 to Tk70,000. Ultimately, they fall into a climate poverty trap. It is difficult to get out of the trap easily and as a result, they resort to migration," said Professor Haque.

Moreover, with the increase in natural disasters, the amount of saline intrusion is also increasing in the coastal region. This damages and shrinks the croplands and fish farms.

"The saline water and salt they are drinking with fresh water is harmful to their health," Professor Haque added.