Rafiqul Islam, Sherpur :
People of frontier Jhenaigati, Sribordi, Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur district are suffering for want of pure drinking water in this dry season.
Every year this problem becomes so acute and people of this area especially the hilly ethnics are the worst sufferer of it.
The ethnics of the Garo hill said it not possible to install a tube well in this hilly area as there is plenty of rocks under the ground. Besides the layer of water level has gone down about 100/150 feet.
Many tube wells in this area have become waterless. They added that they dug a 20 feet well to overcome water crisis. But drinking water from wells causes water borne diseases especially among children.
Government and some other NGO’s of Bangladesh sometimes have taken steps to meet up the demand of pure drinking water and set up ring wells. At this the ethnics of Garo hill got a little benefit. But the ring wells are now in a dilapidate condition. Uzala Rani, a villager said, “Finding no alternative we collect well water to overcome water crisis. But the well water is too impure to drink. We find it difficult to take bath, wash our clothes, do household chores and agricultural works”. She also added, “We have to suffer this for about six months.
Assistant Engineer Md Abdul Mutaleb, Department of Public Health Engineering of frontier Jhenaigati upazila said , water level of the hilly area is going down about 10 to 15 feets every year. He added that if there apply stone cutting technology , it can solve the problem of installing tube wells in the hilly areas. Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Jhenaigati Muhammad Muzammel Haque confirmed about it and said under ground rocks are the main problem to install a tube well in these areas.
