The sweeper community of Natore has been living in inhumane condition in their colonies for a long time. They have no land, healthcare, and access to pure drinking water. Lack of proper sanitation and hygiene is a huge challenge in their everyday life. Moreover, many of them are living under life risk as the dilapidated rooms can come down on them any time.
Out of the many sweeper colonies in the seven upazilas of the district, Alaipur colony, Hospital colony, Station Bazar colony, and Tebaria hut colony are the most inhabited ones. The Alaipur colony is the biggest among them.
Around 200 sweeper families live in the Alaipur colony in a limited number of tin-roofed, brick-built and run down rooms. On average about 10-12 people of a family live in each room like a pack of sardines. The family members have to take turn to sleep on the flat floor. There is no privacy for the couples or adults. The sufferings of the children and women especially know no bounds during summer nights.
As such communicable diseases like diarrhoea spreads throughout the colony easily.
The municipality run schools for the sweepers’ children are also in sorry condition. There are no benches for students, only a table and chair for the teacher.
Municipal authority has set up only 2 tube wells while there are only 8 toilets in the Alaipur colony.
The people, who are responsible for keeping the city clean, cannot wash themselves due to a shortage of bathrooms. Hence, they often suffer from various skin diseases.
The situation is worse in other colonies, where there is no tube well, latrines and proper accommodation. The sweepers live in make-shift rooms on the government land.
The colony residents alleged that the municipal authority had not taken any step to provide a better living condition. The young children, men, women, and also sick persons have to go in the jungle to attend nature’s call by taking risk.
The women have to fetch pure drinking water from far. Moreover, rainy season makes their life more miserable as rooms go under water and spreads water borne diseases.
When contacted, Ranajit Jamader, the newly elected president of Natore Harijan Oikkya Parishad, acknowledged the problems and said, there was an urgent need for more 200 rooms in Alaipur colony. They have repeatedly appealed to the municipal mayor without any success.
“The mayor suggested us to build rooms after filling up the colony’s pond with our own money. But we can hardly take care of our families with the money we earn, let alone build more rooms. We also need at least 8 toilets and 5-6 tube wells.” he added.
Lokkhon Jamadar, another leader of the organization said, the other colony members had been living under risk due to poor housing condition. “If the municipal authority or water development board or the railway authority could lease their land to us in exchange of a token money; or the government allotted us Khash land or built colony rooms, our sufferings may come to an end.”
He urged the government to take immediate steps in this regards and alleviate the living standard of the sweepers.