MINTU DESHWARA

Over 9,000 deep and shallow tubewells were submerged during three separate floods in Moulvibazar in the past two months, causing a severe shortage of clean drinking water.

The contaminated wells are producing cloudy, foul-smelling water.

Sadekun Begum, a resident of Mierpara village in Kulaura upazila, said, “Our government tubewell was submerged and now produces dirty water. So, we are forced to fetch water from far away.”

Shaidul Hasan Shipon, general secretary of the Kulaura Sangbadik Samitee, said tubewells in low-lying areas such as Hakaluki and Kawadighi haors are prone to contamination during the monsoon season. He pointed out that areas like Kulaura, Juri, and Barlekha are particularly vulnerable.

The floods have left approximately 300,000 people in Kamalganj, Rajnagar, Juri, Barlekha, Kulaura, and Sadar upazilas suffering from a severe water crisis.

Sufian Mia, a resident of Kamalganj, said, “Half of my house was submerged. We returned home only recently, but the floodwater has contaminated the tubewells and the toilets are unusable.”

In Mierpara village, Shamim Mia said his tubewell, which served 15 families, was completely washed away during the last flood. However, the Upazila Public Health Engineering office has installed a new tubewell, restoring access to clean water for the affected households.

Md Muhosin, sub-assistant engineer of the Kulaura Upazila Public Health Engineering office, said 250 tubewells have been repaired, 350 disinfected, and five new ones installed in response to the crisis.

The Moulvibazar District Public Health Engineering office said 13,050 litres of bottled water, 305,700 water purification tablets, and 3,955 ten-litre jerry cans have been distributed to the affected areas. Additionally, 30,000 litres of treated water have been supplied through water treatment plants across Kulaura, Juri, Barlekha, Kamalganj, Moulvibazar Sadar, and Rajnagar.

Hygiene kits were also provided to 609 women and children.

Khaleduzzaman, executive engineer of the District Public Health Engineering office in Moulvibazar, said, “Repair and purification efforts are ongoing, but the full extent of the damage is yet to be assessed. Several tubewells remain unusable, and it may take another two months to restore normalcy.”

“We have repaired 699 tubewells so far,” he added.