The recent diarrhoea outbreak in the remote villages in Bandbarban has already killed 10 people. The fact that we are still losing people to such an easily mitigatable disease is shameful in and of itself. However, when considered together with the fact that we are looking at fatalities in a singular area of the country -- not even the totality of the country itself -- it quickly becomes apparent that we have a serious problem on our hands.
The outbreak of diarrhoea at the beginning of the monsoon season has become a common fact of our lives. Every year, we lose many lives to it, lives that could have easily been salvaged if the authorities just paid a little more attention. Experts have opined that the current outbreak in Bandarban has happened due to the contaminated water of the hot springs. In this day and age, we cannot have any citizen in any part of Bangladesh needing to use contaminated water.
The chief of WASA himself declared that the water that poured out of the taps of his houses smelled, and he advised people to drink WASA treated water only after it has been boiled. If this is the condition of Dhaka -- the capital of Bangladesh -- then the disastrous situation in the rest of the country quickly comes into focus.
Bangladesh has been making massive strides when it comes to our economic ambitions, but if we can’t even ensure clean drinking water -- something that is a bare minimum for survival -- then what is our progress for? If so many people throughout the country lack access to clean, drinkable water and die because of it, what has all our development achieved?
This fact that we are still dealing with water-borne diseases like this is unacceptable. The fact that we are losing people due to a lack of clean, drinkable water throughout the country is beyond unacceptable. The authorities would do well to wake up and tackle the issue head on. We cannot afford any more preventable deaths on our watch.
