Dhaka City

Dhaka was a major city on Earth and it became the planets capital in the 24th century. It was also the centre of the The Terran Empire

Ancient Origins -0 AD to 2040

Established in the first millennium (0 AD to 1000 AD), and served as the administrative capital of the Mughal Empire.
Dhaka is based in Bangladesh on Earth on the banks of the Buriganga river and historically experienced floods and extreme temperatures.
The Mughal Empire transferred control of Dhaka to the East India Company adding to the city's mercantile nature and wealth. However, it suffered a major downturn in the 19th century with the collapse of its industry and the rise of the city of Calcutta
After the partition of India in the 20th century, Dhaka was the administrative capital of the Bangladeshi region.

Pre Imperial History -2040 - 2380

Bangladesh was occupied by the Indian army in the 2050's after the end of the "Energy Wars" to deal with rising Islamic fundamentalism.
Dhaka experienced an uptick in its fortunes when the Terran Federation moved its capital to Dehli in neighboring India. By the 2090s, the Indian army had ended its occupation of the city and the surrounding country-side but Dhaka was a bastion of wealth in an otherwise rather poor area.
Dhaka's fortunes dipped in the 2200's with the collapse of the Terran Federation and it lost a large number of government and corporate jobs which were increasingly moving to Mars.
In the 2300's, Dhaka was considered a fairly small, historically significant but economically negligible city on Earth with a population of around two million.

Capital of the Empire -2380-2497

With the rise of House Solarin after the end of the so-called Warlord Era, August Solarin I decided that Dhaka should be the planetary capital and by extension of this, the capital of the The Terran Empire . A massive amount of reconstruction took place, with the government quarter hugely expanded and the new Imperial Palace constructed there.
By 2395, the city had nearly doubled in population and by 2415 nearly twenty million people lived in and around Dhaka City. The boom in immigration due to jobs and security saw vast slums formed around the city which was eventually resolved by the Solarin government.
Dhaka was the site of a major battle in the year 2406 as renegade Imperial Marines attempted to seize the capital and were driven back by the Imperial Legion.
Governance of the city of Dhaka moved to the Lord-Chamberlain of the Empire in the 2400s and the city saw spikes in growth and construction.
Dhaka's downport was expanded in the 2430's and then again in the 2450's.
By the year 2485, Dhaka was home to nearly 30 million people was a bustling, cosmopolitan metropolis.

Post Empire -Post 2497

With the fall of the Terran Empire in the year 2497, the city of Dhaka saw the Imperial Palace fall into disuse and the control of the city return to House Solarin, though this was heavily contested politically and legally.
With the loss of a huge number of Imperial jobs in the civil service and military, the city saw a spike in unemployment in the early 2500s and the city suffered a sharp brain drain. However, the Diet of Earth, working with House Solarin, put measures in place to create new jobs and stopped the push to leave the planet.
The Diet of Earth formally took residence in Dhaka in 2505.

Imperial Palace

One of the largest and most striking buildings in Dhaka city is the Imperial Palace. In the Bulshan district, the Imperial palace stands on a small hill and overlooks most of the city, though it is not the tallest building in the city.
The Imperial Palace sprawls over a square kilometre of ground and is home to many major sites including:

• the Imperial Palace - the former head of the Imperial government and now used by the planetary civil service. A vast, ornate and fortified building that is hugely expensive to maintain.
• the Imperial Residence - the plush and luxurious apartments for the Imperial family. This apartment complex is currently available for private hire and rents start at A$5,000 per month for the smallest apartment (which still features its own swimming pool)
• the Imperial Gardens - hundreds of metres of ornate gardens which are still maintained by the Imperial Gardener and their staff. They are paid by a trust-fund put down by Empress Regina and tend to the gardens, which are now a major tourist attraction
• the Civil Service Block - a state of the art administrative centre, again somewhat fortified. This is now home to the administration of the Diet of Earth
• The Paladin's Monastery - a small fortified block that is home to the elite and mysterious Imperial Paladins. Funded by a joint donation from Houses Krane, Solarin and Valane.

Demographics

As of 2515, 29,775,000 people live in Dhaka City with a breakdown of:

• 28,225,000 humans
• 400,000 Indirians
• 1,700 AIs
• 2,000 other aliens

Government

The City of Dhaka has its own city council which has ninety four seats. The City Councillors are elected to five year terms and half of the council stand for election at a time, so elections are held on a rotating basis.
The City Council appoints one of its members as the Mayor of Dhaka but this is a largely ceremonial post. Never the less, being Mayor Dhaka is often seen as the pinnacle of career in local politics.
The City Council has a huge operational budget of over forty billion adjusted dollars per year and it employs a huge civil service of around 250,000 full time staff, as well as overseeing the Dhaka City Police Department (DCPD) which has ninety-thousand sworn members.
Since Earth joined the The Terran Republic , it also votes in the elections for the General Assembly and the Senate. Polls held in Dhaka see the city's vote tends to go to the centre-left candidates.
Dhaka also elects thirteen members to the Diet of Earth.

Mayor of Dhaka City

The people of Dhaka and its suburbs elect the Mayor of Dhaka City.  During the Empire, this was a free, open election but the powers of the Mayor were fairly ceremonial.  In the Republican era, the Mayor was, until 2580, the head of the Dhaka City-Council.
In 2580, the Mayor was directly elected, with their own seperate powers and responsbilities.
Mayors of Dhaka (since 2580):

1. Gervadar Sanya -Isolationist - 2580-2585
2. Marwood Singh - SDP - 2585-

Capital of the Republic

With the decision of the Diet of Earth to formally join the Republic, Earth is meant to become the capital of the Republic which could see a huge influx of money and jobs. As of 2520, this has yet to happen as discussions are ongoing.

Economy

Dhaka City is a economic powerhouse on Earth and the single wealthiest city on the entire planet. The 2500 census showed that 38% of the planets GDP is earned in Dhaka City.
The 2500 census also showed that the top employers in the city are:

• the Dhaka City government
• the Dhaka City Police Department
• Allied West
• VENTRISS UDC
• Sarissa Arms
• LGD Gamma

In addition to these major employers, around 200,000 people in Dhaka work as taxi drivers and another 75,000 work as shuttle pilots.

Culture

Dhaka is known for a very vibrant and cosmopolitan culture and during its time as the capital of the Empire, it saw a large number of museums, art galleries and theaters opened up. Former Chancellor Hayden Tancredo had a keen interest in arts and culture and he oversaw the construction of several major theaters and art galleries, many of which are still funded by Imperial Trust Funds.
Dhaka is home to several major festivals including Independence Day, celebrated each year by the people of Dhaka for the historical independence of the region from British rule in the 20th century.
Dhaka also celebrates The Day of Fire, a local Valtinist festival held each year celebrating the "light of humanity". This attracts Valtinist worshipers from across the Sol system and even beyond.

Infrastructure

Dhaka is home to a huge number of schools and several major colleges, the most prestigious of which are the Technical College of Dhaka and Shere A Bara Medical College.
Dhaka has excellent public transport, with monorail and grav-lifts set up across the city and run at cost by the city council. There are also taxis, both automated and personal driven as well as "Temp Track" vehicles that can be leased for a day at a time for around A$500.
Dhaka's road, rail and air networks are tightly controlled and there are hefty fines for congestion, illegal parking and traffic offences. Never the less the city is famous for its gridlocks at the middle of the day.
Dhaka has several major hospitals as well as an excellent medical network. All citizens of the city receive free at the point of use medical care and there are means tested treatment centres across the city. Allied West and VENTRISS also offer free hospitals on the planet too, offered as a tax write-off

Sports

Cricket remains the most popular sport in Dhaka and the city has its own hugely popular local league, played between six urban and three suburban teams.
Rugby is also popular and Dhaka's two teams, the Tigers and DHaka Union, play in the Rugby League of Earth.
Airball is also played in Dhaka by the Dhaka Bengals, which regularly sees 90,000 fans in attendance. The Bengals are often seen as the "poor cousins" of the Martian based Airball teams and there is an intense rivalry between Dhaka Bengals and all the Cydonia team.s

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