UNO beside Santal community in Manikchhari ahead of Pahela Baishakh
Alamgir Hossain, Manikchari,Khagrachari:
Every neighborhood in the Chittagong Hill Tracts has been celebrating since April 1. This atmosphere is going on in the hills around the Bengali New Year and the Baisabi festival.
However, like every year, the colors of Boishakh will not spread in Santal Para near the remote Daijapara of Manikchhari upazila of Khagrachari. 'New clothes, festivals, Mangal Shobhajatra, Baisakhi fair or any special arrangements around the New Year cannot touch this poor Santal community of 8 families.' - With such news, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tahmina Afroz Bhuiyan rushed to the Santal Palli on Friday morning, covering several kilometers of hilly, high and low dirt roads, to spread the colors of Boishakh.
He visited Santal Para with the locals and gave cash assistance to 8 families there as a gift for Boishakh. This is the first time since independence that the Santals have received financial assistance on the occasion of a festival.
At this time, Santal leader Bhutto Santal said, 'We cannot provide good clothes or good food to our wives and children for any social or religious event. This time, we, the residents of the neighborhood, are happy to receive financial assistance before Pahela Boishakh. We will organize a function in the neighborhood and arrange food together.'
Beneficiary Pooja Santal said, 'This time, I will be able to buy new clothes for my boys and girls on Pahela Boishakh.' She thanked the administration at this time.
At this time, UNO Tahmina Afroz Bhuiyan said, 'The upazila administration is helping to improve the quality of life of the Santals here. Houses have already been built and drinking water has been provided to all families with government assistance. In addition, some financial assistance has been provided by the administration to each family so that they can celebrate one of the Bengali festivals, Pahela Baishakh, and the Pahar Baisabi festival with their families. This trend will continue in the future as well.
Santal leader Bhutto Santal said that his late father Nakunda Santal, along with his wife and first child Ganesh Santal and brothers, sometime before 1950, settled in the remote village of Daijapara in Manikchhari, a backward township of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Today, 45-50 Santal people, including children, teenagers and the elderly, live in this township in 8 families.
Although the standard of living of the country and its people has improved and changed with the touch of modernity, the Santals here were deprived of all the facilities for more than 50 years.
