By Dr Aynal Haque
RAJSHAHI, March 9, 2021 (BSS) – Scores of low income and marginalized
people are getting safe drinking water as a breakthrough of a government
project implemented in the drought-prone Barind area, officials said.
The project styled “Community-based Water Supply in Lower Underground
Water-level Areas in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts” has
been accomplished before the scheduled time in June next, they said.
The Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) has implemented the
three-year project with an estimated cost of around Taka 32.19 crore to
ensure safe drinking water for around 1.73 lakh people living in the water-
stressed areas.
SM Shamim Ahmed, Superintending Engineer of DPHE, said installation works
of 865 submersible pumps in 59 Unions of 12 Upazilas have been completed.
So, a total of 34,600 households have came under the water supply
coverage, he said.
Platforms with overhead tanks were attached to each of the submersible
pumps. There are eight points in each of the tanks. At least five families
are getting water supply from each of the points through pvc pipelines.
The beneficiary people were given responsibility to properly maintain the
infrastructures routinely.
Engineer Shamim said the initiative had been taken to ensure round-the-year
drinking water for the less-income and vulnerable villagers, where power
supply is available.
He added that 850 pumps are being operated by electricity while solar
panels were installed to operate 50 other pumps in the villages which still
remain beyond the power supply network.
Jahangir Alam Khan, Coordinator of Integrated Water Resource Management
(IWRM) Project, said there is a shortage of drinking water in the region
during the dry season and the problem has become acute for the last couple of
years.
The existing shallow water technologies become ineffective currently and
demand for deep tube-wells has increased in the area due to rapid decline of
groundwater along with arsenic contamination in shallow aquifers in many
areas.
Khan said villagers cannot extract groundwater as the water level goes
down abnormally during every dry season.
“Adverse impact of climate change is putting local people into trouble
since the hand-driven tube-wells are not functioning here in dry season,”
said Professor Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan of Department of Geology and Mining in
Rajshahi University.
The climate-induced condition has been posing a serious threat to the
overall public health in the vast Barind tract, especially Tanore and
Godagari upazilas in Rajshahi, Nachole and Gomostapur upazilas in
Chapainawabganj and Porsha, Shapahar and Niamatpur upazilas in Naogaon
districts.
Prof Jahan, however, said the scheme will play a vital role in improving
the health condition of the beneficiary people through expansion and
development of the community-based water supply system that will supplement
the government efforts of achieving the sustainable development goals.
He also said that the initiative will contribute a lot to reduce the acute
crisis of drinking water in the drought-prone Barind area.