Dirhapar Union is a quiet village located on the northwestern edge of Sandwip Upazila of Chittagong, on the border of Sagar, Meghna and Char. Three government shelter projects were established in this char, which has been reborn after the river erosion, a few years ago, one of which is called "Comrade Muzaffar Ahmed Shelter Project".
Those who have taken shelter here in the hope of a new life still have the impression of fatigue and uncertainty on their faces. There is a roof over their heads, but there is no secure life under it.
From the outside, rows of mud-walled houses look like a new and wonderful settlement. But as soon as you enter, you see crumbling walls, leaking rainwater, broken doors, and wet floors. Most of the old latrines are defunct, commodes have sunk to the ground, cracks in the roof, and the iron doors are rusted. Many have now replaced the doors with wooden posts to somehow preserve their existence. A female resident said, wiping her eyes, "I'm afraid to sleep at night - there are snakes everywhere, there is no electricity." Sometimes the scoundrels peek in. Earlier, I used to sleep outside because of the heat, but now I live in fear inside the house. It's like being trapped inside a shelter - where there is a house, but no security.
Some of the project's tubewells are now useless, some pipes are broken, some don't produce a single drop of water. The water table dries up in the heat, and the surrounding area drowns in the monsoon. Since there is no drainage or sewage system, the entire area turns into mud with even a little rain.
The stench makes it difficult to breathe, children fall into the water, and mosquitoes plague every house.
At night, the sky over Dirhapar descends into darkness. There are two electricity poles in the project, the other has not been installed yet. There is no electricity connection in either. Because there are no documents or money to buy a meter Their. In some houses, solar lights flicker, while others spend their days in kerosene smoke.
They survive in the silence, fearing snakes in the dark, crying children at night.
For them, “night” does not mean rest, but another phase of struggle.
As soon as they step outside the project, mud and water battles begin. The nearest primary school, market or medical center—all 5-6 kilometers away. Some children sometimes get wet and walk to school, sometimes fall in the mud. One day, their educational life ends forever due to the fear of walking so far. To take someone sick to the hospital, they have to pay about a thousand taka to a hospital 12/14 kilometers away.
Due to this hardship, many people leave the project during the rainy season and go elsewhere, then return again. Many come to live without realizing it, with many dreams, but after a few days they leave disappointed, because there is no way to earn money. ,The helpless return again — with new hope, maybe this time something will change.
Death is neglected like life. Although there are about four hundred and ninety families in the three projects, there is no cemetery. When someone dies, the body has to be carried on shoulders and taken to a distant village. It seems that there is no peace even after death — this scene makes the heart heavy.
Locals said that some houses have been allotted to influential people who do not live here. Again, the water bodies next to the project have been occupied by them. Where ordinary people could cultivate fish, now others are tied up. It seems that the helpless are once again cornered on government project land.
The project residents, regardless of gender, presented their problems to journalists and CSO representatives for two and a half hours. They said that they want a permanent solution to these basic problems and humanitarian crises. Their demand is that through the CCR project, various forums at the upazila, district and national levels should be held.
The demands raised by the project residents in the presence of CSO members and journalists, organized by the partnership project “Climate Change and Resilience (CCR)” of SDI and Coast Foundation, are not only demands for development but also for human survival.
16-point demands of project residents
The demands raised by the project residents in the presence of CSO members and journalists in the partnership project “Climate Change and Resilience (CCR)” organized by SDI and Coast Foundation are not only for development but also for human survival.
The demands include onverting a barracks into a community clinic and install a doctor two days a week ; introduction of non-formal primary education by appointing local youth as teachers ; building a cemetery at the designated location and enclose and raise the boundary, reecover the occupied water bodies and provide the residents with the opportunity to farm fish; esttablish a tin shed market in the market ; rearrange the allocation of houses according to the number of family members. This means providing a maximum of two houses (since almost half of the houses are empty) and ensurinhg access to government benefits (VGF, VGD) by transferring the voting area and others.
Local journalists Ilias Kamal Babu, Ilias Sumon, social workers Md. Shahadat, Biplob Dam and CSO members were present to witness this human reality.
The entire program was coordinated by Badal Roy Swadhin, a community mobilizer, poet and journalist of CCR Project-SDI.
These people of the Dirghapar Ashrayan project still live in hope—maybe one day their children will not have to go to school 4/5 km away, soaked in mud and water, they will get treatment at home if they get sick, they will sleep peacefully with lights on at night, and women will get a way to earn money.
May this silent appeal of theirs reach the ears of the administration and the hearts of policymakers because shelter is not just a roof over your head, shelter means the right to live.
