In July 2024, we have visited some of the destination areas of climate affected people in Khulna and Chattogram Cities. Before visiting the places, we had a meeting with Md. Mizanur Rahman, Director General and Mr. Netai Chandra Dey Sarker, Deputy Director at Department of Disaster Management (DDM), Government of Bangladesh. Then in the field level, we have met with District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer (DRRO), and Local Governments of those areas of Khulna and Chattogram districts where climate affected people have been moving for a long time. Jagrata Juba Shongha (JJS) at Khulan and Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) at Chattogram has provided assistance and information about the climate migrants to the destination. They have provided many information about the reasons behind their migration decision and current situation of them.
There are some slums in Khulna City Corporation where landless, displaced, low and middle-income people are living. We have visited some of them and identified that 31no. ward is the biggest slum where almost one hundred thousand people are living and most of them are affected by different types of climate hazards. Some of the climate affected people we have met who are from South Bethkhashi Union which is our selected study area as origin. They have come to this place for better opportunity of employment, low housing cost, access to education of their children, access to healthcare and so on. Although they have been dealing with some of the challenges in their destination like- insecurity of their female child of physical harassment, lack of employment opportunity, lack of drinking water and diseases (Diaria, Alergi, Breatning) due to poor waste management system to this destination. Women are from this destination also mentioned that they can get easy loan from micro credit company which is helpful for them to create new small business or sometime they provide those loan to their husband for betterment of their family. Beside that they have also mentioned that most of the time this loan creates huge burden to them because of the high interest rate. So that they are hoping to get loan from the Bank by easy condition. After meeting them, we have selected 31 no. ward situated at Lobonchora as migrant’s destination site for this study.
In Chattogram City, primarily we have visited three slums named Bachtuhara Colony, CMB Colony and Amin Colony. After visiting them we have selected Bachtuhara Colony because of most of them are climate affected. This Colony is only for them who are climate affected or displaced by different natural disasters. So many overwhelming emotional stories of cyclone affected people we have listened. There have several reasons behind their migration at this Colony. Some of them have come by losing their homestead and agricultural land to the river, lack of employment opportunities, vulnerable livelihood, not being able to plant crops etc. Currently, they are engaging with small business, worker in dry fish factory, driving and other professions. They also mentioned that government is eradicating them from several Colony. For a long, they are having limitation of safe drinking water and they are purchasing drinking water which is expensive for them. After each rainy day they are facing waterlogging problem. During waterlogging in front of their houses and roads get filled with wastage. Huge amount of people from Bashkhali Upazila of Chattogram, Hatia Upazila of Noakhali and others have been migrating for last decade due to several climate disasters.
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Parvez Bhuiyan
Research Associate