More than 5,000 people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts district of Bandarban are getting safe drinking water through British American Tobacco Bangladesh's (BATB) CSR program “Probaho.”
Bandarban Deputy Commissioner Md Daudul Islam officially inaugurated the Probaho water filtration plant in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban district recently.
Naikhongchari Upazila Chairman Prof Mohammad Shafiullah, Naikhongchari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sadia Afrin Kochi, and Naikhongchari Sadar Union’s Union Parishad (UP) Chairman Nurul Absar Emon were present during the event.
This is the first time Probaho started its journey in Chittagong Hill Tracts after its previous establishments in different arsenic prone locations of the country.
When the water level goes down in the dry season, the people of Naikhongchari upazila and other surrounding areas face extreme water crisis.
At the time, the locals usually meet their demand for water by harvesting rainwater or digging wells in the hills. Moreover, due to the rocky layers, it is very difficult and expensive to draw water from deep tube-wells that is next to impossible for the locals.
The local people believe that the drinking water crisis will be solved through the Probaho project.
It is estimated that 10,000 litres of water can be provided every day from the plant, which can easily meet the daily need of water for more than five thousand people.
Mohammad Ayub, a local resident of Naikhongchari upazila said that he used to spend around Tk3,000 every month to avail clean and safe drinking water. That money is being saved since the Prabaho project started. He expressed joy of having a water filtration plant in his neighborhood and thanked BAT Bangladesh.
BAT Bangladesh launched this special project of safe drinking water, called “Probaho,” in 2009 to ensure clean and safe drinking water in different areas of Bangladesh, especially in the most arsenic prone areas.
Probaho has already achieved many recognition across the boundaries for its contribution to provide safe drinking water in relevant communities.
Under this project, 88 water treatment plants have been set up in more than 14 districts of the country, in the past 11 years.
At present, BATB has water treatment plants at Kushtia, Meherpur, Jhenaidah, Chuadanga, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Jamalpur, Madaripur, Satkhira, Natore, Gopalganj, Tangail, and Manikganj. Bandarban has been the latest addition to the list.
