The increasing contamination of groundwater by salinity, iron, and heavy metals in Gopalganj district plunged many residents into a dire state, leaving them grappling with a shortage of drinkable water.
People without access to pure water also suffer from various waterborne diseases like diarrhoea and skin problems.
The government, alongside different non-governmental organizations, including Qatar Charity (QC), is actively engaged in extending assistance to the affected people.
However, the crisis remains persistent in many areas, signalling the need for further strategic action to overcome the problem.
During a visit to the district, some affected people shared how they suffer while collecting drinkable water during the summer amid scorching temperatures when the groundwater level falls.
"It is my daily routine to collect water from the deep tube well carrying a heavy pitcher, except for rainy days. It's an arduous task, but I have no other choice," said Laboni, a resident of Gopalganj municipality's Mandartola Swapner Thikana area.
Barkatullah, another resident of the area, said, "We have two ponds and a distant tube well as our water sources. Unfortunately, the water in the ponds is heavily contaminated. Bathing in it leads to skin diseases and various health issues for our children, and even drinking it causes diarrhoea and other health complications."
"For our livelihood, the biggest challenge we face is accessing safe drinking water in our area. We want to get rid of this problem," he said.
Lipi Begum, a housewife in Gopalganj Sardar Upazila's Ratoil union, said they used to fetch water from deep tube wells located far away.
"We did not get satisfaction from drinking that water while suffering from various problems due to the high level of iron concentration," she shared.
Thanks to a water plant of Qatar Charity, Lipi said they are now getting drinkable water. "We're very satisfied with drinking the purified water from the water treatment plant. "But we still go through an ordeal to get water for cooking, bath, and other purposes."
Kamrul Gaji, a government official at the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Gopalganj district, said the surface water in many areas of the district contains high levels of heavy metals, such as unsafe levels of iron, salt apart from arsenic, leading to a shortage of pure drinking water sources.
"The situation worsens during the summer time when the freshwater levels drop and saline water seeps in. From March to June, many people in Gopalganj Sadar and Tungipara unions endure the hardship of pure water scarcity," he explained.
Out of the 21 unions of the Sadar Upazila, he said four ones--Haridaspur, Gopinathpur, Latifpur, and Chandradigulia — suffer from a scarcity of drinkable water. "We can't install deep tube wells in these four unions due to excessive iron, salinity, and arsenic in the groundwater."
Kamrul said those who rely on tube well water suffer from various illnesses including diarrhoea, dysentery, stomach problems, high blood pressure, and skin diseases."
He mentioned that the government has taken rainwater harvesting systems (RWHS) and water tank construction projects in five upazilas of Gopalganj district to address the issue.
In Sadar Upazila, the DPHE official said, nearly 4,000 people are getting benefited from the project.
Besides, he said various non-governmental organisations, such as Qatar Charity, have installed water treatment plants in the district to provide potable water to the crisis-affected people.
Sohel Alam, Project Director of Qatar Charity Bangladesh Office, said QC has implemented 19,152 projects in various regions of Bangladesh over the last 10 years, benefitting 1,564,000. "The projects aim to protect the environment, reduce diseases and epidemics, and minimize electricity consumption."
He said QC, with the support of philanthropists in Qatar, has installed 135 water purification projects in the Gopalganj district, benefiting over 10,000 underprivileged individuals.
Sohel said Qatar Charity has long been working to provide clean drinking water for coastal residents by installing deep tub wells and water treatment plants.
