Water crisis worsens in Aila-hit Shyamnagar,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

Over two lakh people in 12 unions of Aila-affected Shyamnagar upazila in the district are badly suffering due to persistent water crisis during the ongoing summer.

Rural people in the upazila mostly depend on ponds and other reservoirs as sources of drinking water as the installed tube-wells cannot lift safe drinking water due to salinity in ground water level.

The government authorities re-excavated at least 250 ponds to solve drinking water crisis in the upazila but over a hundred of them have dried up due to lack of rainfall while the remaining ones contain inadequate water, said Masud Rana, Shyamnagar upazila project implementation officer.

Water of other ponds and reservoirs owned by the district administration and Zila Parishad has also become unfit for drinking as the influential people took lease of them from the authorities and are cultivating fish there, using chemical fertiliser and pesticides.

While visiting different areas including Munshiganj, Arpangashia, Atulia, Chandipur, Bayarsingh, Kalinchi, Kupot, Pankhali and adjoining villages, this correspondent found people struggling to get drinking water.

Many women were found returning home with jars full of muddy and saline water from the ponds and reservoirs that no longer contain sweet water.

"I had to stand in a queue for three hours from 3:00pm to get a jar of water for my family members at a PSF [pond sand filter] at Fultala village on May 31," said Dipali Mondal, 34, wife of Pabitra Mondal of Dhankhali village.

Nimai Chandra Chowkidar, who came to fetch water from a PSF at Fultala village about seven kilometres from his house at Arpangashia village, said, "I maintain my family by working in others' fields as a day labourer. But now I have to come here twice a week to fetch water from the PSF, suspending my work."

Dipali Haldar, 13, and Jamuna Mondal, 14, of Dhamkhali village said they had to suspend going to school as they have to spend long hours to fetch water from Fultala village for their family members.

Amu Dasi, 50, and school student Sujon, 11, of Kalbari village and Amena Begum, 60, of Pankhali Chuna village said they had to fetch water from a pond of Water Development Board at Munshiganj village about four kilometres off their village due to lack of sweet water ponds in their locality.

Nur Jahan Begum, 50, of Pankhali village, Sona Moni, 55, of Munshiganj village and a few others said they earn Tk 60 per day by working in others' fields or shrimp enclosures as day labourers but they have to spend Tk 20 to fetch four jars of water.

They urged the government to take measures to solve the water crisis persisting in the area in an emergency basis.

There are 1386 deep and shallow tube-wells, 37 RWH and 50 PSFs in the upazila, said sources of Shyamnagar upazila Public Health Department.

But solution to drinking water problem has remained a far cry, they said.