Dhaka, Aug. 17 -- With more than 50,000 people living per square kilometre, over 500,000 buildings, a population of nearly two crore, chronic air pollution topping global charts, and waterlogging after light rain, simply surviving in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka is a big challenge, making the vision of turning it into a smart city seem distant to many.

According to the latest data from Global Forest Watch, Dhaka's tree cover is less than 1% of its total land area.

Over the past four years, 198 hectares of greeneries in the capital have been destroyed for housing and other projects, releasing nearly 60 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

A report by Sustainability Advocates Station states that alongside improvements in other...