Desk Report: People of Jurain and adjoining areas of the capital face an acute shortage of safe drinking water throughout the year, reports Daily Sun.
When locals are keen to get safe water, Hazi Sheikh Kamal, a philanthropist of the neighbourhood, has come forward with his helping hand to mitigate the crisis.
Sheikh Kamal has started to provide Jurain people with safe water for free. He installed a deep tube-well on his house premises to supply water to the locals.
During a visit to the area, this correspondent found that several dozen locals stand in a queue in front of Kamal’s house to collect water every day. Water can be collected once a day. Neighborhoods irrespective of their ages appear before the house just 7:00am every day with two or three water jars or other pots.
The number of water takers is so much that their queue becomes long.
“Locals of North Jurain and its surroundings have long been suffering from scarcity of water. This situation shocked me and I moved to install a deep tube-well 18 years back,” Kamal said.
He said there was no alternative to setting up tube-wells to save the life of the people.
Kamal further said he has no intention to benefit from the services. Rather, he has to count a lot of money for the purpose every month.
Hasina Begum, a recipient of water, said, “I have been collecting water from the tube-well at this house for around 15 years.
The water is safe and drinkable.”
Hailing from Dholaipar, she collects the water and save the life of whole family members.
She alleged that water supplied by WASA is dirty and unhygienic spreading stink.
All the residents of Jurain and adjacent areas are grateful to the philanthropist who ensured safe water at his own cost.
Around 250-300 locals collect water from the deep tube-well free of cost every day, said Md Jamal, caretaker of the house.
Locals from Pipe Rasta, Dholaikhal, Munshibari, Gendaria Rail Station come to take water from the house, he added.
Daily Sun correspondent visited the house to see water collection by Jurain people on Tuesday morning.
The caretaker was seen extending all logistic support to water recipients and monitoring the situation.
Jamal said, “We allow locals to collect water in queue. People can take water from 7:00am to 1:00pm.”
“Had Sheikh Jamal not supplied safe water, we would have fallen in deep trouble. The children are going to schools and colleges and parents are going to their job places after drinking the water and eating food cooked with it. So, the magnitude of service of Jamal to the local people can be easily understood,” said Mohammad Taijul Islam, a resident of Pipe Rasta under Juarin.
However, many recipients of the water called upon the affluent people in the society to follow example of Sheikh Jamal and stand by the common and helpless people to resolve their crisis.