Salinity grips 80pc villages in Aila-hit Koira upazila
Women and children in Koira upazila of Khulna district take the trouble to walk long ways to fetch drinking water as salinity affects most of the water sources in the area following the onslaught of super cyclone Aila on May 25 in 2009.Photo: STAR
Salinity grips nearly 80 percent villages under Koira upazila in the district, causing persistent crisis of safe drinking water and extensive damage to arable lands, especially those producing paddy and vegetables. Due to high salinity following the onslaught of cyclone Aila on May 25 in 2009, paddy yield per bigha of land has come down to 8-10 maunds while it was 20-22 maunds earlier in Koira upazila, according to the Department of Agriculture Extension in Khulna. Salinity is gradually damaging fertility of land like slow poisoning due to infiltration of saline water due to collapse of 156 kilometres of embankments after Aila hit the coastal areas including Koira upazila. Abdul Gafur Sarder, 52, and his wife Asiron Bibi, 40, set out from home before sunrise every morning to fetch water from a deep tubewell at Jorhsing village, 18 kilometres away from their home at Koira Sadar. "We cannot afford to buy a drum of 20 litres water for Tk 40," said Asiron Bibi. Hundreds of people of the Aila affected upazila have similar tales to tell. "All the ponds from where we collected drinking water before the Aila are of no use due to salinity," said Jabbar Howlader, a farmer. According to Koira Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Abul Bashar, people of 30 villages have been suffering from serious crisis of safe drinking water as ponds are still full of saline water and there is no tubewell in those villages. People of the villages, namely, Tetultala, Mahesharipur, Nayani, Shekherkona, Choukuni, Kalikapur, Maharajpur, Mathbari, Kalna, Megharite, Motherkona, Lakkhikhola, Shyamkhali, Srirampur, Koira Sadar, Gurhiabari, Bagali, Arjunpur, Boga, Malikhali, Sharishamut, Hogla, Shaorha, Uttar Bedkashi, Patharkhali, Katkata, Paddapukur, Hariharpur and Dakkhin Bedkashi and Hadda, have to buy drinking water. "Neither the government authorities nor any NGOs have taken any initiative to free pond water from salinity. Some NGOs supplied safe drinking water for about six months after cyclone Aila. But they later stopped the humanitarian task," said upazila Chairman GM Mohsin Reza. Shahidul Islam, upazila engineer of Public Health Engineering Department, said over 400 tubewells were installed through government and non-government initiative after the Aila. But water of these tubewells has also become unfit for drinking due to excessive salinity and iron. UNO Abul Bashar said, although it is a tough task as 80pc villages are in grip of salinity, steps are being taken to arrange safe drinking water by freeing the ponds from salinity.
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