Poor civic amenities frustrate residents

Over 15 thousand people of Kuakata municipality in Kalapara upazila under the district are deprived of basic civic amenities as the municipality set up five years ago has not seen any mentionable development in last five years.

The municipality covering 9.40 square kilometres started functioning on December 15 in 2010 and Md Jahangir Alam, upazila nirbahi officer of Kalapara, is conducting its activities as 'administrator' from the beginning.

The municipality with its present population of 15,326 will see its first election on December 30 when 6,845 voters including 3,495 male and 3,350 female will choose their representatives.

Municipality office is running at a rented portion of 'WDB rest house' in Kuakata Zero Point area. Vehicles like buses, microbuses and trucks are parked on the roads as there is no parking area in Kuakata, said Md Sahajan Akon, a local resident.

Of the 18 kilometre road of the municipality area, only 1.5 km is pucca road although the picturesque tourist spot in the beach area attracts thousands of visitors from home and abroad round the year, he said.

There is no water supply and sanitation system and we have to depend on tube-wells for drinking water, said Monju, a Rakhaine youth of Keranipara area.

"We have to pay municipality tax but get  no facilities," said Bulbul, another youth of the same area.

"We have hardly any feeling of living in a municipality area as facilities are very poor. Most of the earthen roads become muddy during the rainy season. There is no metalled road at West Kuakata, Khajura, Keranipara, Nabinpur, Kachchhopkhali and Fasipara although these areas are important to tourists," said Fatima Begum of Panjupara in the municipality.

Lacho Matubbor, a Rakhaine women leader, said 25 households in their para have to suffer a lot in the rainy season as there is no metalled road.

Awami League (AL) backed mayoral candidate Abdul Bareq Mollah, also president of the town unit of AL, said he will take steps to solve all the problems of the municipality if he is elected mayor in the upcoming polls.

BNP backed mayoral candidate Abdul Aziz Musulli also pledged to take step to ensure residents' amenities, if elected.

Contacted, Md Hafizur Rahman, secretary of Kuakata municipality, said, "We could not meet demand of local people as allocation was very poor and we have to still struggle with various problems including manpower crisis and operational problems."