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THE people of the three south-western coastal districts have been facing crisis for safe drinking water for long.
   They are also facing water crisis for performing household chores including cooking and washing. They are compelled to use saline water from ditches, canals and rivers, according to the people in different corners of Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira. The three districts have a population of more than 30 lakh, said unconfirmed sources, adding about one third of
   the populace were facing water crisis.
   Drinking water crisis deepens in the dry season when water in the rivers, canals, bils and even ponds becomes more saline.
   According to locals, shrimp farmers preserve saline water in ditches for cultivation during a period between January and June. After that period they are supposed to drain out the saline water and preserve the rain water. But in most cases, they preserve the saline water for the next year’s shrimp cultivation. Consequently, the most ditches remain saline for round the year.
   The crisis has deepened over the last 10 to 15 years as a good number of shrimp enclosures have flooded in the area, local people said.
   On the other hand, a large number of people of the villages adjacent to Sundarban cannot get safe and sweet drinking water from natural resources and have to use saline and dirty water for drinking. People willing to avoid saline water for drinking have to collect drinking water often going to distant places by boat or on foot.
   According to officials in the Department of Public Health Engineering, deep tube-wells are not effective in Paikgacha municipality, Paikgacha upazila, Chalna municipality, Dacope upazila and parts of Dumuria and Koyra upazilas in Khulna; Mongla municipality, Mongla upazila, Sarankhola upazila and parts of Rampal and Morrelganj upazilas in Bagerhat; and large part of Shyamnagar and Assasuni upazilas in Satkhira.
   The DPHE and few other non-governmental organisations have introduced Pond Sand Filter (PSF) and Rain Water Surface Filter (RWSF) at the places. But at some places the PSF failed due to excessive salinity in pond water. Besides, the RWSF becomes ineffective during the dry season.
   According to statistics of the DPHE made in 2003, Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira have 15,807, 16,624 and 16,428 tube-wells respectively and the districts have an average of four tube-wells in every square kilometre.
   Julekha Bibi, 50, of village Nalian under Dacope upazila said they used to depend on the RWSF for their drinking water but during the dry season she had to fetch water from the adjacent village of Sutarkhali, walking about three kilometres.
   ‘Besides, we have to collect water for cooking crossing the River Shibsha and the male members of our families collect it,’ she added.
   Krishna Pada Munda, 35, of village Tepakhali adjacent to Sundarban under Koyra upazila said they used to drink water from reserved ponds but the water of the reserved ponds became saline as saline water was preserved in the adjacent bils and canals for shrimp cultivation.
   ‘As a result, we have to collect drinking water from few kilometres away and we use saline water for cooking and household use,’ he added.
   Md Kamaluddin Ahmed, superintendent engineer of the Khulna DPHE, also acknowledged that people of the southwest were facing problems to collect safe drinking water.
   Dr Mozammel Haque, residential medical officer of Dacope Upazila Health Complex, told New Age Saturday that a good number of people were suffering from high blood pressure, skin diseases and diarrhoea for drinking saline water.
   Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, assistant professor of the environmental science discipline of Khulna University, said the saline water should not be kept preserved after shrimp farming.
   He suggested that cultivation of shrimp and spawn by rotation could minimise the crisis as the farming of the latter needed sweet water.