600 fishermen families in subhuman condition
Monday, 8 November 2010
A Correspondent
NOAKHALI: Nov 7: At least 600 fishermen families have been living a subhuman life for ages at village Lala Nagar under Aswadia Union of Sadar upazila in Noakhali while no authority or non- government organization is coming forward to improve their conditions.
According to the sources there are at least 600 fishermen families at Lala Nagar who are passing miserable days for want of civic amenities.
Source said since the liberation of Bangladesh they have been deprived of all kinds of civic rights.
Dearth of food, clothes, sanitation, pure drinking water, medicare, education facilities, good communication system, dowry, over population problems, exploitation by money lenders, electricity etc. have become a part of life for the fishermen of Lala Nagar and its adjoining areas.
The perennial problems are so severely prevailing in every family that one who visit the area will hardly believe that these neglected people of fishing profession are under any administration.
Recently a team of journalists of different dailies visited the area and saw for themselves the sorrows of the fishermen.
The overall scenarios of the locality are as follows:-There are 4 to five hundred families at Lala Nagar cluster where at least 4000 people are residing .They are mostly fishing professionals. Many heads of family have more than one wife with no less than 7 to 8 sons and daughters each.
Though the government is spending a fairly big budget for upgradation of education, the children of this area are not getting the light of education at all.
When visited the fishermen area, it was noticed that countless minor boys and girls were roaming aimlessly hither and thither bare bodied or in torn-out old and dirty dresses that testifies to their living condition.
When asked about their education and future, some of the parents replied bitterly that they could not feed their issues even two meals a day let alone think of their education.
The condition of the sanitation is here is unspeakably bad. A tea staller, when asked about sanitary latrine could not say what sanitary latrine was and said that there were some kuccha latrines with slabs and cement rings around that are fenceless and during the rainy season stools come out overflowing the whole area.
Although there seems to exist a so called clinic here for the common people's treatment at a corner of Din Moni bazaar, it was found under lock and key where cows, goats, dogs were roaming around. The doctor of the clinic comes here once or twice in a month.
The bractice of dowry exists here openly. No girl can be given to marriage without any endowement and the amount of dowry is no less than taka 20 to 25 thousand in cash with radio, wrist watch, neck lace bicycle and and so on. Most of the marriages are performed violating government wedding law. Early marriage is not discouraged
Though somewhere there are electric poles they have no line. People are dependant on generator at a rate of 150 to 200 for each point
The fisherman of this area cannot run their fishing business for want of net and money. So they have to receive micro loan from local NGO or money lenders. But since they can't repay the loan in time they have to accept the burden heavy interest.
NOAKHALI: Nov 7: At least 600 fishermen families have been living a subhuman life for ages at village Lala Nagar under Aswadia Union of Sadar upazila in Noakhali while no authority or non- government organization is coming forward to improve their conditions.
According to the sources there are at least 600 fishermen families at Lala Nagar who are passing miserable days for want of civic amenities.
Source said since the liberation of Bangladesh they have been deprived of all kinds of civic rights.
Dearth of food, clothes, sanitation, pure drinking water, medicare, education facilities, good communication system, dowry, over population problems, exploitation by money lenders, electricity etc. have become a part of life for the fishermen of Lala Nagar and its adjoining areas.
The perennial problems are so severely prevailing in every family that one who visit the area will hardly believe that these neglected people of fishing profession are under any administration.
Recently a team of journalists of different dailies visited the area and saw for themselves the sorrows of the fishermen.
The overall scenarios of the locality are as follows:-There are 4 to five hundred families at Lala Nagar cluster where at least 4000 people are residing .They are mostly fishing professionals. Many heads of family have more than one wife with no less than 7 to 8 sons and daughters each.
Though the government is spending a fairly big budget for upgradation of education, the children of this area are not getting the light of education at all.
When visited the fishermen area, it was noticed that countless minor boys and girls were roaming aimlessly hither and thither bare bodied or in torn-out old and dirty dresses that testifies to their living condition.
When asked about their education and future, some of the parents replied bitterly that they could not feed their issues even two meals a day let alone think of their education.
The condition of the sanitation is here is unspeakably bad. A tea staller, when asked about sanitary latrine could not say what sanitary latrine was and said that there were some kuccha latrines with slabs and cement rings around that are fenceless and during the rainy season stools come out overflowing the whole area.
Although there seems to exist a so called clinic here for the common people's treatment at a corner of Din Moni bazaar, it was found under lock and key where cows, goats, dogs were roaming around. The doctor of the clinic comes here once or twice in a month.
The bractice of dowry exists here openly. No girl can be given to marriage without any endowement and the amount of dowry is no less than taka 20 to 25 thousand in cash with radio, wrist watch, neck lace bicycle and and so on. Most of the marriages are performed violating government wedding law. Early marriage is not discouraged
Though somewhere there are electric poles they have no line. People are dependant on generator at a rate of 150 to 200 for each point
The fisherman of this area cannot run their fishing business for want of net and money. So they have to receive micro loan from local NGO or money lenders. But since they can't repay the loan in time they have to accept the burden heavy interest.