The Daily Star	January 2002
       
       Arsenic menace: Faridganj people using pond, well water



      UNB, Chandpur


      Faridganj is among the worst affected area of a massive chemical poisoning 
      of drinking water in the country. People there are reverting to good old 
      days of using pond and well waters to avert being affected with arsenic.
      Service-providers, however, are trying to give the villagers hygienic 
      methods of usage of water from these sources alternative to tube-wells.
      Despite frantic efforts by the government and non-government 
      organisations, hazards of arsenic contamination of water pumped by shallow 
      tub-wells hardly showed any respite in some districts, as in Chandpur.
      Almost 95 per cent shallow tube-wells of Chandpur comprising in six 
      upazilas is reportedly arsenic-contaminated, pushing the people in the 
      area in danger.
      The worst affected upazila is Faridganj with 98.20 per cent tube-wells 
      there spewing arsenic with water leaving 437,005 people in its 16 unions 
      in danger of being poisoned with the toxic chemical.
      To face this terrible situation, Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water 
      Supply Project (BAMWSA) is working with the cooperation of the Department 
      of Public Health Engineering.
      Surveying a total of 28,249 tube-wells of Faridganj upazila, BAMWSP found 
      the waters of 25,617 tube-wells contaminated -- the percentage being 
      98.20, the highest in the country -- which panicked the people.
      Mohammad Khorshed, 38, an inhabitant of Balithuba union, told that they 
      were compelled to use contaminated water finding no alternative source of 
      pure water.
      Some of the villagers drink boiled water collecting from pond as an 
      alternative. Sensing terrible situation, six MPs from Chandpur took an 
      initiative to make alternative sources of water.
      Apart from the initiatives, Alamgir Haider Khan, the MP from Faridganj-6 
      constituency, set up two dug-wells (patkua) in two villages as an 
      alternative source of pure water on January 12 (Thursday).
      BNP secretary general and LGRD minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan inaugurated 
      the two wells in the area on Thursday while other MPs were also present.
      They are State Minister for Education ANM Ehsanul Haq Milon, Nurul Huda, 
      SA Sultan Titu and GM Fazlul Haq.
      Inaugurating the patkuas, which were main source of drinking water once 
      upon a time all over the country, Bhuiyan termed the arsenic hazard a 
      "silent killer" assuring the villagers that everyone should have the right 
      to have pure water. "It is the state duty to provide pure water."
      The minister said the government is determined to arrange pure water for 
      the citizens, especially arsenic-affected areas. "Even the government is 
      deeply considering supplying safe water in mufassil towns through 
      pipeline."
      Naming different donor agencies and NGOs helping the biggest fight ever 
      against public health hazards, Bhuiyan said the government had taken 
      all-out measures to get rid of the arsenic scourge.