Indigenous Mros in Chimbuk area in acute water shortage, no help around

Hill Voice, 27 April 2023, Bandarban: It has been reported that the indigenous Mro people of Chimbuk hill area of Bandarban hill district are suffering from severe drinking water shortage. They are now in dire straits due to lack of water for drinking and other essential uses.

According to local sources, at least 871 Mro families in 28 villages of Chimbuk area are currently facing severe water shortage.

Due to lack of rain and extreme heat, almost all the channels, waterfalls and streams around their villages have been dried up resulting this difficult situation.

Many fear that if this situation continues, various physical complications or diseases may appear among the villagers.

Several villagers said that many of the villagers have tried to attract the attention of the local public representatives verbally and personally several times, but so far no one has come forward and stood by them.

A person named Ryong Mro wrote on his social media, “The scarcity of water happens mainly during the summer season in March-June of the year. Due to the recent heat, water is drying up in many more streams. On the other hand, the water available in the streams is mostly polluted. As a result, many villagers drinking this water directly, they may suffer from various diseases later on.”

He also writes, “The hill women are suffering the most to collect drinking water. They work all day as usual, and then spend the whole night without sleeping to collect a little drinking water from a long distance of walk at night.”

https://hillvoice.net/en/solidarity-gathering-in-dhaka-and-memorandum-to-pm-in-demand-of-stopping-construction-hotel-amusement-center-in-chimbuk/

He said, “Even in this day of scarcity, we are not getting any representative of the government by our side. If the district administration could supply drinking water from Bandarban headquarters during this period (March-June), then our water shortage would have been reduced to some extent.”

A villager who did not want to be named said that there is no tube-well in the Mro areas. He laments that the outsider Bengali settlers have tube-wells in almost every house, but the Mros do not.

The villages in Chimbuk area with water shortage are- 1. Menlung para- 26 families, 2. Bagan Para- 30 families, 3. Ramari Para- 60 families, 4. Riyamani Para- 17 families, 5. Mensing Para- 11 families, 6. Kaprupara- 55 families, 7. Dala Para- 23 families, 8. Ara para- 26 families, 9. Pabla Hedman Para (Chimbuk)- 80 families, 10. Kilai Para- 9 families, 11. Buitota Para- 12 families, 12. Patui Para- 17 families, 13. Mralong Para- 24 families, 14. Noa Para- 22 families, 15. Kramadi Para- 44 families, 16. Babu Para- 26 families, 17. Mendui Para- 32 families, 18. Dewai Headman Para- 36 families, 19. Renikhyong Para- 35 families, 20. Parchang Para- 8 families, 21. Ruif Para (Fora Bangla)- 35 families, 22. Rangklang para- 20 families, 23. Ranglai Chairman Para- 22 families, 24. Chingchang Para- 8 families, 25. Ranglai modyam Ward- 24 families, 26. Ampupara- 60 families, 27. Kurang Para- 70 families and 28. Jamni Para- 39 families.

https://hillvoice.net/en/more-than-50-mro-plantations-destroyed-in-chimbuk-hill-fire-conspiracy-allegations/

https://hillvoice.net/en/mros-threatened-to-kill-by-five-star-hotel-builders-in-chimbuk/