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Drinking Water Crisis

Kuakata people turn to rainwater

Our Correspondent, Patuakhali
People of Kuakata are using rainwater for drinking as an acute water crisis plagues the area.
Tube wells and deep tube wells pump out saline water during the summer, which is not drinkable.
Most water bodies in the southern tip of the country dry' up in the summer months while others are contaminated with saline water. Water purification tablets clear the water of germs but cannot eliminate salinity.
Locals said at least 70 percent of the ponds in Latachaplee and Mohipur unions under Kalapara upazila have dried up. River and canal water also become salty in the dry season.
MongthonTalukder, member of the Rakhain community in Amkholapara in Latachaplee union, said, "The Shibbaria river flows right past us but we can't drink its water in the dry season.
"To meet the drinking water shortage, we now store rainwater."
At least 78 tanks have been set up in Rakhain houses in Karanipara, Kalachandpara, Amkholapara under the "Integrated Agricultural Activity" project funded by Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation.
HM Milon, community facilitator of the project, said at least 2,000 litres of water could be stored in each tank.
They cost around Tk 50,000 to Tk 60,000 to set up including all equipment. It was a sustainable and safe system, he said.
To collect rainwater, plastic pipes were attached to the tin roofs of the houses, which carry the water into the plastic reservoirs. There is a locking mechanism where the pipes enter the reservoirs.
After rainwater is stored, it is used for all household purposes as well as drinking.
Housewife Akhaichin, who uses such a tank, said the process is simple and easy to use.
A local NGO, Nazrul Smriti Sangsad, also runs a similar project with financial help from the European Union and technical assistance from NGO Forum.
Linder the project, concrete tanks are built at a cost of around Tk 27,000.
Shahabuddin Panna, executive director of Nazrul Smriti Sangsad, said, "We plan to set up rainwater reservoirs in every household in the area."