The way life is changing for many like Taposhi
Taposhi Das is a resident of Dakshin Mohra or Kalurghat Jelepara area. Her son has a menial job. Their mud house used to get flooded every monsoon. And the fences would collapse. But the situation has changed in the last one year. An embankment constructed on the bank of the raging Karnaphuli river has saved more than 1,500 residents of the Jelepara area. And they are really happy about it.
They themselves have laboured to build this embankment. However, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was there with overall support. The road running along the embankment has been paved as well. Using discarded polythene and plastic, a footpath and a public toilet have also been constructed in the community.
UNDP has been working on improving living standards for the backward population in 24 wards of Chattogram city such as Mohra. This organisation is helping to improve the living standards of urban poor population basically who are victims of climate change. To this end, they have also taken up a project titled Livelihood Improvement of Urban Poor Communities (LIUPC).
Apart from Chattogram, similar projects are running under LIUPC project in 12 wards of Cox’s Bazar as well. Various programmes including the construction of roads, embankments, drains, toilets, street lamps, tree plantation, house construction, nutrition, training in tailoring and providing educational assistance have been taken up under the project.
The lifestyle of almost 2,000 residents in ward no. 1 of Cox’s Bazar municipality has been completely changed, thanks to an embankment and a bridge. Not only that the residents of this community are involved in different development activities including house construction, business assistance, nutrition, training in tailoring and educational aid.
About 1,600 people live in Dakshin Mohra Jeleara area in Mohra ward no. 5 of Chattogram city. The profession for most of these people is fishing in Karnaphuli river. They earn their livelihood by catching fish and selling them to nearby markets. However, the erosion by Karnaphuli river used to frequently demolish the road they used for communication. But, a 115 meter-long embankment has changed the whole outlook of the locality.
Under this project, a total of 8,791 people have been provided business aid in Chattogram. Apart from that, 6,971 have been provided educational aid with 4,724 expecting mothers and new mothers receiving aid for improving their nutritional standards.
Meanwhile, 767 toilets have been constructed with 14 kilometres of footpath, 72 deep tube wells, about four kilometres of drain and slabs have been installed over 3.7 kilometres of that drain as infrastructural development.
Team leader of Mohra CDC, Shilpi Das sad, “Just as we have been able to improve the living standards of poor communities like ours under this project, there has been infrastructural development as well. Child marriage has been prevented. And, some have been given financial aid for house construction.”
Similarly, 250 people have been given business aid and 190 have been given educational aid to prevent child marriage in Cox’s Bazar. Meanwhile, 800 expecting mothers and new mothers have received nutritional aid there. Apart from this, 29 families have improved their condition through cooperative business from receiving financial aid.
Besides, as many as 21 deep tube wells have been installed in Cox’s Bazar along with the construction of almost three kilometres of drain and slabs being installed over 2.5 kilometres of that drain. Plus, 137 metres of RCC road with 265 metres of brick and RCC road have also been built in the district.
The Samity Para area in Cox’s Bazar once used get submerged underwater during rainy season. Then after the devastating cyclone in 1991, homeless people coming from Kutiubdia had taken shelter there. In turn, they had then set up habitation there.
But, one of the residents Rina Aktar said their sufferings were endless during every monsoon. They would have to move from one place to another by boats then. After UNDP has constructed a paved road, it has put an end to that suffering now, she added.
With support from the government of the United Kingdom, UNDP has brought about 4 million (40 lakh) climate-vulnerable people in urban areas of 19 districts of Bangladesh through the LIUPC project.
When asked resident representative of UNDP in Bangladesh Stefan Liller said, “The project has empowered more than 50,000 women by providing them with livelihood-related aid. It has given educational aid to 20,000 students as well as effectively prevented child marriage and dropping out of education. With this project, it has also been possible to ensure women’s inclusion in decision-making.”
About 24,000 community infrastructures have been constructed in the project area. Around 1.8 million (18 lakh) people will be the beneficiary of these infrastructures and this project will increase their endurance of facing climate change related risks, added Stefan Liller.