Water crisis in CHT

This daily reported yesterday that many of the villages of Rangamati and Khagrachhari districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts are facing an acute crisis of water as most of the springs and streams in these villages are running dry. The situation is so bad that even after digging up to 150 feet, no groundwater could be found in some of the springs.

Water crisis in CHT is a common problem during the dry season. But the situation has worsened over the last five years due to deforestation across the region and drying up of natural springs. Also, stone extraction has undermined the water retention capacity of the streams. Last year's landslides in June, moreover, damaged many of the streams.

In the wake of such a situation, we hope that the local administrations will find some immediate solutions to the problem. They must consider storing of monsoon rainwater as an alternative and local knowledge can be applied to do that. In addition, tube wells and deep tube wells must be set up in the suitable areas.

We understand that the government is addressing the problem, but any plans that is taken up should be long lasting and include measures to conserve the forests and nature of the hill tracts.