Villagers of kombonia struggling for drinking water

Muntakim Mosnobi Mim

Kombonia para is a large village of Whykong union under Teknaf Upzilla of Cox’s Bazer district. The village accommodated 500 household with a single tube well and several ring wells called pat qua and ponds. The village is situated beside the hills of teknaf reserved forest (Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary).it’s distance from Teknaf Upzilla is 36 k.m.

Nurul Alam is one of the villagers and school teacher of the only primary school. He is the first person who passed S.S.C. among the villagers. He discussed the villager’s suffering for drinking water with me, which he witnessed from his childhood. He told that, they never drink tube well water in their village. During the dry season, women of the village make lines to collect water from ring wells. Sometime the line made of hundred women. The women left the home at 4.a.m. and make line in front the ring well. If luck is good, water of the well cover the needs of all women. If failed to cover the needs then rest of the women wait for storing water in the well. Some days it takes 10.a.m. It’s a harsh reality that women are competing to collect water at kombonia village. This competition for water continues throughout the dry season (February to Jun). People of other villages don’t want to give their daughter marriage in Kombonia village because of the water crisis.

Poor villagers of Kombonia have tried to make the situation better but failed. They don’t get any kind of support from Government or NGO to bring a sustainable solution. The local UP member has betrayed with the local people, collected money but didn’t take any effective initiatives.

Generally the women flocks bear the total burden of collecting and managing water. So people of other villages are not willingly sending their daughter as in-laws of Kombonia village.

Bangladesh has achieved the status of lower middle income country. Achievements in MGDs are satisfactory. Now to achieve SDG 6-“Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” the policymakers should give priority to the hard to reach areas like Kombonia.

BSS Hons in Applied Sociology in ASAUB.

Currently having my internship at a Ngo SPASE Bangladesh