Hurricane Sidr: 30,000 fishermen have lone usable pond

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Around 30,000 fishermen at different Sidr-affected chars adjacent to the Sundarbans are facing an acute crisis of drinking water as the November 15 cyclone left badly polluted all the four ponds which used to be the source of potable water for them.

Of the four ponds, three located at Office Kellar Char, Narikelbariar Char and Sholar Char still contain highly contaminated water with no steps as yet for its purification.

Water in the other pond, at Meher Alir Char, has been purified to some extent with individual initiative. And several thousand fishermen from nine chars now collect water from this pond every day.

Fishermen at these chars have demanded that the authorities take immediate steps to clean these ponds as diarhhoea has broken out in different areas due to crisis of drinkable water. And any delay in this regard might lead to an epidemic, they feared.

Meanwhile, the administration is providing purified water received as US relief at Maron Char. But fishermen hardly take this water following a rumour that it causes diarrhoea.

At Meher Alir Char Thursday morning, it was found that hundreds of fishermen had already gathered around the eight acre-pond to collect water.

Many of them had come from places 10 to 22km away by boat. Carrying different kinds of water containers, they were standing in long queues.

Dublar Char fishermen led by Major (retd) Ziauddin Ahmed and his brother Kamaluddin Ahmed looks after the pond. They had taken steps to clean the pond and make its water drinkable.

A number of fishermen from Sholar char came to take water from this pond for around 5,000 fishermen at the char, about 30km away. It takes around two hours to come to Meher Alir Char and another two hours to go back.

Maron Char with about 5,000 fishermen living there is about 10km from Meher Alir Char, Majher Kellar Char with about 4,000 fishermen is 4km away while Manik Khalir Char where around 1,000 fishermen now live is 12km away. There are about 4,000 fishermen at Narikelbariar Char which is 22km away, and around 2,000 at Office Kellar Char, 8km away from Meher Alir Char.

And they have to depend on water from this pond.

A number of fishermen said they have got relief materials but they are not getting drinking water.

Ziauddin said, “There is hardly any food crisis at these Islands but crisis of drinking water has turned acute. The government should take immediate measurers to purify water of the ponds to end the crisis.”

Unless this done as early as possible, diarrhoeal diseases might spread at different chars, said Ziauddin, who was a sub-sector commander in Sector-9 during the Liberation War.

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