Hatia (Noakhali) Correspondent:
The shape of a house stands on an empty plot. There is no fence or canopy. From a distance, it seems that the skeleton of the house is standing. The soil of the plot has been washed away by rainwater long ago. People no longer live in these houses. There are no cows or goats either. Such is the picture of the cluster villages built for the landless in the isolated Char Ataure of Hatia, an isolated island upazila of Noakhali district.
The previous government built cluster villages in various chars for the rehabilitation of the landless. Two cluster villages named Tarubithi and Chhayabithi were built on 12 acres of land in Char Ataure on the western side of Hatia’s Tamraddi Union. The work was completed by the end of 2019. In this, houses were built in each cluster village to accommodate 50 to 100 families. 4 tube wells and a pond were built for every 50 families.
Each family was given a unit with a toilet, a kitchen and two living rooms. These houses are made of tin on iron sheets. But within 6 years, these houses have lost their suitability for living. These houses have been destroyed by cyclones several times. No maintenance has been done. As a result, many of the hundreds of families were forced to leave these government-provided houses.
Soma Begum lives in house number 31 in Tarubithi Guchchagram. She said that she lost everything long ago due to river erosion. Her husband is a brick kiln worker. She started living in this char with her four children around 2020. They were given a house in Guchchagram by the government. Within three years, their house collapsed in a storm. The doors and windows of the house were broken. They are somehow living by tying it with ropes. The houses on the river bank to their east have completely collapsed. The residents of these houses have moved to other places due to the lack of repair facilities.
Chhayabithi Guchchagram is next to Tarubithi Guchchagram. Currently, only 7 families out of 50 families live there. There are no doors, windows, or fences in the other houses. Now no one lives there. Nikhi Rani Das lives in house number 39 of Chhayabithi Guchchagram. Her husband is a seasonal laborer. She said that she has been living in this char for 5 years.
One hundred families were given government housing in two Guchchagrams. But since they are on the banks of the river, these houses have collapsed in a minor storm and become uninhabitable. The pillars of many houses have fallen. There are no roof tiles or fences in many houses. Only iron sheets are lying on the roofs of the houses. Many of the residents of these houses have moved to other places.
She also said that before coming to this char, they were assured that they would be given many facilities and amenities. They were given hope that their livelihood would be provided. But none of that was done. Even though the house they lived in collapsed, no government action was taken. Many have moved to other places. They stayed because they had no place to live.
Khokon Majhi has been living in the char since the beginning. He said that these houses were built through the Upazila Executive Officer’s office. But due to the use of low-quality construction materials, these houses collapsed in a short time. In addition, there is a shortage of drinking water as the deep tube wells set up for these families have broken down. Although two ponds were dug, they were flooded with tidal water and became flat.
In this regard, Upazila Executive Officer Md. Alauddin said, “Many helpless people are living in cluster villages in Char Ataur. These families have been provided with various facilities including winter clothes and relief. Arrangements have already been made to dig a pond for them. But no allocation has been made for repairing the houses. Necessary measures will be taken if allocation is received.”