Non-profit organisation ActionAid on Wednesday demanded urgent action as the southern coastal districts of Bangladesh - Satkhira and Borguna - are facing a severe water crisis in the face of depleting groundwater, scarcity of drinking water and salinity intrusion in those regions thanks to climate change.
Absence of sufficient rain, source of freshwater like ponds are drying up, and water in the tubewells is also depleting day by day during the months of March-April.
In the absence of pure water people of these regions are forced to drink contaminated water, which led to an increase in diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, jaundice, gastric, urinary tract infections, skin diseases, constipation, genital itching, and sores, ActionAid said in a press release.
Outbreaks appeared to be exacerbated in women with chronic diseases such as tumours and cervical cancer in the absence of pure water.
Two unions of the Kaligonj upazila of Satkhira, Varashimla and Mothureshpur, and seven unions of Pathorghata upazila of Borguna districts face severe water crisis as the water level in ponds reduced sharply and sand filter became unusable, ActionAid said.
Over 600 families of more than 10 villages of Kaligonj upazila of Satkhira forced to use tadpole-infested water for household uses in absence of pure water, it added.
“As we don’t have any alternative source of water, so we are using tadpole-infested water,” ActionAid quoted Rahima Khatun of Narayanpur village in Kaligonj upazila of Satkhira as saying.
Describing the severity of contaminated water-related problems, medical officer of Kaligonj Upazila Health Complex Mahatab Hossain said, “Nowadays many women are coming with urinary tract infections, genital itching and lucoria.”
The scarcity of pure water has a health implication for the women, girls and the entire family couple with social and economic implications, which accelerated now as the country is going through Covid-19 pandemic.
“The price of water has been doubled in the markets whereas our income has been reduced due to Covid-19 pandemic. Because of increasing water price, we cannot afford pure water and forced to use the contaminated water,” a climate victim told the NGO.
Farah Kabir, Country Director of ActionAid Bangladesh said, “As an emergency response, ActionAid Bangladesh is responding to the crisis by providing water to the community in the short term. In the medium term, we are working with communities to find locally invented sustainable solutions to counter the growing water crisis.”
She urged the government and all development partners to work together to address the climate crisis.
“As world leaders gather for President Biden’s virtual climate summit on April 22, 2021, we, along with the communities in southern Bangladesh – who are facing a severe water crisis – argue that climate action cannot wait for far-off emission reduction targets. the global leadership must act now. It is not about the 2025 goal; it is about now. They have to take responsibility, act rationally and ensure that the community does not face this hardship,” she said.
