Save people of Kabodak basin
Speakers demand at Tala meeting
An inundated homestead in Putiakhali village in Tala upazila due to persistent water-logging in the area.Photo: STAR
Speakers at meeting yesterday urged the government to take immediate steps to resolve the persisting water-logging problem in 221 villages in Tala and Kalaroa upazilas in Kabodak river basin. Over 75,000 people are marooned and their 25000- hectare croplands are uncultivable due to water logging caused by flooding from silted Kabodak. As the river is silted, it can not retain water, which overflows its banks, they said. The problem has destroyed the livelihood of the people, who are in great miseries for long. Most of areas in the villages are inundated by ankle to knee-deep water. The villagers have little access to safe drinking water and sanitation, which have made them vulnerable to diseases, they said. Most the tube wells have gone under water. Scores of houses have been damaged as the homesteads are under water since June, they said. Over 227 families who lost their houses in the area have taken shelter on high lands, the speakers said. Re-excavation of silted Kabodak is the only solution to the problem but no step has yet been taken in this regard, they said. The meeting was organized by Oxfam and local NGO Uttaran who are working to mitigate the sufferings of the affected people. Held at Uttaran office at Patkelghata in Tala upazila, the meeting was also attended by local journalists of national dailies and the electronic media and NGO officials. Earlier, the two NGOs organised a tour of the area by journalists. The water-logging problem persists in the area since 1987-88 as the Kabodak riverbed was silted. The flood water from the river can not be drained out as all its natural outlets are now clogged due to deposit of silt and encroachment, the speakers said. The water-logging poses threat also to the ecology as vegetation, wildlife and livestock are affected, they said.
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