Food water shortage in different areas of Sundarbans: One pitcher of water has to walk two miles!

The Dhaka Times Desk The shortage of food and water was seen in the capital earlier. But after the installation of water pumps in Dhaka Wasa area, that problem has been reduced a lot. But in the remote areas of the country, the food and water crisis has become acute.

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It is known that there is severe shortage of drinking water in at least 16 upazilas from Sharankhola in Bagerhat near Sunderbans to Shyamnagar in Satkhira. About 5 million people live in these 16 upazilas. It is known that the residents sometimes run two miles from one village to another to collect a pitcher of drinking water. Each family of Shamukpota village of Lata Union of Paikgacha Upazila has to spend 400 to 600 taka per month for drinking water. Moreover, drinking water from ponds or ponds without getting drinking water is affecting various types of stomach pains.

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Quoting a research report by a Satkhira-based voluntary organization 'Uttaran', a news report said that the source of fresh water has decreased due to the drying up of the rivers in the south-western region of the country. Moreover, due to the abnormally low water level during the dry season, there has been an acute shortage of fresh water. According to the report, the causes of water scarcity are: change in course of river Ganges, loss of normal flow of canals and rivers due to illegal encroachment, lowering of ground water table, misuse of fertilizers and pesticides, construction of coastal dams in places, relatively low rainfall. Inaccessibility or untimeliness, increasing salinity, irrigation of boro fields during dry season, pollution of rivers and streams by hospital and clinic effluents, blockage of fresh water by Farakka Dam, lack of underground aquifers and sea level rise. The main reason for the increase is mentioned in the research report.

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Moreover, about 79 percent of the tubewells in the southwest region have excessive levels of arsenic. The survey also mentioned that the residents of Dumuria, Paikgacha, Koira, Batiaghata, Dakop in Khulna, Shyamnagar, Tala, Asashuni, Kaliganj, Debhata, Sadar in Bagerhat, Mongla, Sarankhola, Rampal, Moralganj, and Chitalmari in Satkhira are still without fresh water. Out of reach. Due to which the people of those regions have to collect drinking water from far and wide. This situation continues for months and even years.

The public health department of Paikgacha upazila said that due to the lack of success in installing deep tube wells, the drinking water crisis is being tackled by using shallow tube wells, rain water and pond water. According to the concerned public health department, efforts are being made to install deep water tube wells in the area, but the initiative has not been successful as the water level has dropped too low.

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In such a situation, the local people feel that the government should take initiatives on an urgent basis, including installation of shallow tube wells.