Life has turned around for the people of Char Kukrimukri, an impoverished union under Char Fasson upazila in Bhola district, since eight fresh water reservoirs were built in the area around a year ago.
The reservoirs are located on the inner side of a 4.07km embankment built by Bangladesh Water Development Board (WDB), under a pilot project by Union Disaster Management Committee under the UNDP Bangladesh funded by the Netherlands.
The embankment is protecting around 6,600 residents of Char Kukrimukri, an island, from tidal floods and salinity intrusion, locals told this correspondent during a recent visit to the union.
They also said how they have found a way to better livelihoods since the construction of the fresh water reservoirs; around 180 households have reaped the benefits of having access to fresh water, and half of the beneficiaries are women.
“Before, we used to wait in long queues to collect fresh water from tube-wells, but now we can easily get it from the reservoirs,” said Sebika Rani Roy, who lives near a reservoir named Babuganj Meghna FFF Society.
“We don’t have to buy fish now; we get it from the reservoir. Sometimes, we sell the fish in the local market. My elder child is studying at a college in Golachipa. I can afford to pay for his education,” she told the Dhaka Tribune.
Besides fish farming, the locals also cultivate vegetables and fruits on the banks of the reservoir.
“We grow our vegetables and fruits using only organic fertilisers, and we get good results,” said Sanjib Sarkar, a local farmer.
Sanjib Chandra Das, another farmer, said: “We had to buy vegetables from the market a year before, but now we can sell them at the market after fulfilling our families’ needs.”
“The reservoirs have brought a revolutionary change in the lives of people in Char Kukrimukri, especially for women,” said Abul Hashem Mahajan, chairman of the union parishad.
“The embankment is protecting the people from saline water, and the reservoirs are providing them with fresh water and helping them farm fish, vegetables and fruits. More of such reservoirs are needed in other areas of the district.”
Still a long way to go
The success story of Char Kukrimukri does not extend to other areas of Char Fasson upazila.
The WDB has recently constructed another embankment stretching for eight kilometres from Aslampur union to Madraj union. However, unlike the Char Kukrimukri embankment, this one does not contain reservoirs; instead, the land has been excavated in an unplanned way before it was left abandoned.
Fishermen living in the area told this correspondent that these random canals could have been turned into fresh water reservoirs, which could be highly beneficial for them in many ways.
Mad Monir, a fisherman, said: “This season is not favourable for fishing in the river. It is a loss for us as we are sitting idle.
“If the excavated land had been dug in a planned way involving local people like us, and reservoirs were built, we would be able to enjoy many benefits now.”
Aslampur union parishad Chairman AKM Sirajul Islam said: “It is the WDB’s responsibility. They only built the embankment. If they had also built fresh water reservois involving the locals, it would directly help a lot of landless people here. It would not take much money to build the reservoirs.”
The Dhaka Tribune contacted Kawsar Alam, executive engineer of WDB’s Bhola 2 region, who said it was never in their plans to build reservoirs in Aslampur.
“We did not have any plan to create water reservoirs when we excavated the area prior to constructing the embankment. The plan was to protect the people from flood water.”
Building a reservoir in Aslampur like the ones in Char Kukrimukri would cost around Tk10 lakh, he added.
