Md. Mustafa Saroar*
Urban and Rural Planning Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh.
Golam Moinuddin
Urban and Rural Planning Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh.
Hygiene; Sanitation; Community health, Safe water; Motivation
Batiaghata Thana of Khulna district
Risk Management in Agriculture
The present study was conducted (for the preparation of a dissertation) as a requirement of Bachelor of Urban and Rural Planning Degree (BURP) in 1997. The Batiaghata Thana of Khulna district was selected for a number of reasons primarily because tidal water and salinity directly influences this area. Thus the problems of safe water and hygienic sanitation are likely to be more acute here than any other Thana of Khulna district. Further more DPHEUNICEF launched safe water and sanitation program was operating in this area. To be unbiased, a multistage –stratified random sampling technique was adopted while designing survey sample. As primary sampling unit, “Jalma” union (Out of 7 unions) was selected. It comprises 29 villages. Among these 5 villages (15% of the 29 villages) were randomly selected as secondary sampling unit. Finally in order to achieve representativeness, 15% households from each of these five villages were randomly selected for questionnaire survey.
Two types of questionnaire viz. one for program beneficiaries/covered households, another for nonbeneficiaries/uncovered households were administered. Questionnaire for the beneficiary groups was designed such a manner so that it could comply with three distinct types of beneficiaries i.e. it was compatible for households having sanitary toilet(s) but does not use safe water; for households using safe water, but not using sanitary latrine and for those using both the services. For the present study non-beneficiary / uncovered household means those who haven’t got access or are not habituated to safe water and hygienic sanitation services.
Profile of Study Area The study villages are located at the northern part of the Batiaghata Thana. The area lies in between 22 43'- 22 43' 30" North latitude and 89 31' -89 32' East longitude. Total population of the five villages is 7165. 38% of them are engaged in agriculture and related farming activities which is followed by day labor 16%, small business 8.5%, boatman 8%, service 7% and others 15%. The average income of the households is significantly low, ranging Tk. 1500 -2500 per month. But the literacy rate is slightly higher as compared to national average. Average male literacy is 58% and female literacy is 37.33% (BBS, 1992). In all the five villages, the inhabitants are normally habituated to pond, canal, ditch, and tubewell water for meeting their daily water needs. But on the events of increased awareness regarding safe water and hygienic sanitation, their dependency on tube well water is increasing even though in a slow pace; nevertheless it is promising. It would be worthwhile to mention that the people here generally do not use tubewell water due to increases salinity and the burgeoning threat of arsenic contamination rather they procure water from near by shallow/deep tubewell.
Situation Analysis of Safe Water Program in the Study Area: From 1982 to 1992 expansion of the program was very slow and from 1992 and onward under crush program the rate of expansion was considered fast. Sources of water for household use are gradually getting changed from unhygienic to hygienic one among the covered and uncovered households. Study revealed that even in 1990 more than 80% people were dependent on water of pond and similar sources for meeting much of their potable water demand. But such scenarios have markedly changed particularly among the program beneficiaries. Now 100% people of the covered households use tubewell water for drinking purpose. Of course, in the case of washing, bathing etc. the rate of such dependency change to improved sources is quiet low. Only about 17% and 31% households of the beneficiaries use tubewell water for washing and bathing purpose respectively.
On the contrary, among the non-beneficiary group/households dependency on pond water for drinking purposes has been reduced from 73% to 63% in the second phase of the on going program. It was probably due to the demonstration effect. Similarly dependency on tubewell for potable water has increased from 7% to 24% at a poor rate of progress. It indicates a clear message that even after one and half decade of the programs commencement the non-beneficiaries household have not registered significant changes in their daily water procurement pattern.
Status of Hygienic Sanitation Program in the Study Area A significant change has taken place among the program beneficiaries in terms of their habit of toilet use. During 1982-92, amongst the 110 sample households of beneficiary category, only 35% used to rely on hygienic sanitary latrine for defecation; by the year 1992-96, which rose to as high as 100%.
Khulna University Studies 1(2): 213-223
Journal