Chattogram Development Authority Chairman Engineer Belayet Hossain said unplanned urbanisation has made Chattogram unsuitable for living, citing severe waterlogging and traffic congestion. He made the remarks on Saturday afternoon at a public opinion gathering on the city’s draft master plan, saying expanding the city’s boundaries was essential to address the problems.

Hossain said encroachment on canals and drains, private hospitals without parking, schools and universities, and unplanned construction had intensified urban pressures. He said private universities should conduct academic activities from their own campuses, while private schools and hospitals must ensure their own parking facilities to help reduce traffic congestion.

The proposed master plan would connect about 800 square kilometres from Anwara-Karnaphuli, Patiya municipality, Hathazari, Raozan, Boalkhali, Rangunia and Sitakunda to Chattogram city. It envisages improved housing for 800,000 to one million people. Proposals cover noise and air pollution control, landslide prevention, water supply, sanitation, waste management and climate-change impacts. Public hearings will begin soon; the plan is 87 percent physically and 59.67 percent financially complete and will be finalised after hearings.