Rainwater harvesting a boon for char people in Noakhali

At least 500 families in the shoal (char) areas of Mohammadpur union, in Subarnachar upazila of Noakhali, are now getting safe drinking water during the summer every day.
These people had been suffering from drinking water scarcity for a long time. But now they are happy to get safe drinking water though the LGED, with support from Danida.
The LGED-Danida’s Climate Change Adaptation Project (CCAP) facilitates safe drinking water in the char areas of the coastal district through rain water harvesting.
Char Maksumul is about six sq km of silted land formed in the Meghna river. It falls within Mohammadpur union of  Subarnachar upazila in Noakhali district in the south-eastern coast of Bangladesh. Since the char was formed, river-eroded landless people have started living there. Presently, there are 500 households having 2,500 inhabitants.
Scarcity of potable water used to cause severe difficulties for the poor community of this locality. People had to travel 2 km to collect drinking water from deep tube-wells. The LGED-Danida’s CCAP came up with the idea of rain water harvesting by digging a pond and installing a sand filter to treat the water.
A local resident told The Independent: "After a long time, the char inhabitants are getting drinking water near their homes, thanks to the LGED-Danida’s project. We're grateful to the Government of Denmark and hope that it continues to help climate-affected poor people living in char areas."
When contacted, the district technical adviser of LGED-Danida, Abul Kalam, told The Independent that a 4,000 square metre reservoir, having a three-metre depth, has been excavated to store a maximum of 12 million litres of rain water. There is a 1,500-litre capacity pond sand-filter with a hand pump for at least 500 users per day. To prevent entry of saline surface run-off, a firm earthen one-metre high embankment has been constructed around the pond.
The filtered water was tested in a laboratory, and it was found to be free of arsenic.  Abul Kalam said this scheme will benefit the poor community for a long time, provided it is maintained properly by the beneficiaries.

Rainwater harvesting a boon for char people in Noakhali

At least 500 families in the shoal (char) areas of Mohammadpur union, in Subarnachar upazila of Noakhali, are now getting safe drinking water during the summer every day. These people had been suffering from drinking water scarcity for a long time. But now they are happy to get safe drinking water though the LGED, with support from Danida. The LGED-Danidas Climate Change Adaptation Project (CCAP) facilitates safe drinking water in the char areas of the coastal district through rain water harvesting. Char Maksumul is about six sq km of silted land formed in the Meghna river. It falls within Mohammadpur union of Subarnachar upazila in Noakhali district in the south-eastern coast of Bangladesh. Since the char was formed, river-eroded landless people have started living there. Presently, there are 500 households having 2,500 inhabitants. Scarcity of potable water used to cause severe difficulties for the poor community of this locality. People had to travel 2 km to collect drinking water from deep tube-wells. The LGED-Danidas CCAP came up with the idea of rain water harvesting by digging a pond and installing a sand filter to treat the water. A local resident told The Independent: After a long time, the char inhabitants are getting drinking water near their homes, thanks to the LGED-Danidas project. Were grateful to the Government of Denmark and hope that it continues to help climate-affected poor people living in char areas. When contacted, the district technical adviser of LGED-Danida, Abul Kalam, told The Independent that a 4,000 square metre reservoir, having a three-metre depth, has been excavated to store a maximum of 12 million litres of rain water. There is a 1,500-litre capacity pond sand-filter with a hand pump for at least 500 users per day. To prevent entry of saline surface run-off, a firm earthen one-metre high embankment has been constructed around the pond. The filtered water was tested in a laboratory, and it was found to be free of arsenic. Abul Kalam said this scheme will benefit the poor community for a long time, provided it is maintained properly by the beneficiaries.