Sanjoy Kumar Barua, Bandarban

Basic civic amenities still elude the residents of Bandarban town, 35 years after it started functioning as a municipality.

Problems like inadequate supply of drinking water, lack of sewerage system and public toilets, scanty streetlights, narrow and broken roads, and lack of recreational facilities continued affecting the residents even after the district town was upgraded to ‘A’ category municipality in 2002.

Human wastes and garbage of the town are discharged directly into the Sangu river, polluting the waterbody flowing through the town.

As the municipality authority failed to set up sufficient potable water points, many people have installed deep tube-wells at their house with own cost.

Most of the areas become dark soon after evening due to absence of streetlights.

Thirty-seven ethnic Marma families living at Godar Para under the municipality have to collect their drinking water from a jhiri (natural water flow) while electricity still remains a dream for them, said Aung Kyaw Ching Marma, a local.

The poor inhabitants have to pay municipality tax without getting any facilities, said U Chaw Mong, karbari (headman) of Godar Para.

“We hardly feel that we are living in a municipality area as the facilities are very poor. Waterlogging is very common in Bandarban town now as most of the land of Myaksi canal have been grabbed,” said Robiul Islam of Army Para area.

Amzad Hossain, convener of citizens’ welfare association in Bandarban, said buses, microbuses, trucks and three-wheelers are often parked on the roads as there is no parking area in the municipality.

Touhidul Islam, secretary of Bandarban municipality, said, “Bandarban Hill District Council is the authority to supply water in the town. We are repairing most of the roads of the municipality area under different government projects.”

“We could not provide adequate civic amenities for the townspeople as there was not sufficient allocation for the purpose. Necessary steps will be taken to solve the problems as soon as possible,” said Islam Baby, mayor of the municipality.

“The picturesque tourist spots of the district attract thousands of visitors from home and abroad round the year but lack of facilities including potable water hampers tourism here,” said Sirajul Islam, secretary of hotel owners’ association in Bandarban.