A village left in the dark

The village is only five-kilometers from Khagrachhari's Dighinala upazila sadar.

But the village has no tube well to get potable water, no electricity for illumination, no paved roads to travel on, and no school for children to attend.

Villagers have to walk 30 minutes along a narrow uneven path to reach the nearest paved road.

On a recent visit to the village, our correspondent experienced first-hand the difficulties that the several hundred residents of the village named Vitor Tarabunia have to face. 

Mayajoy Chakma said the villagers collect water from a well or a nearby spring. During the dry season, people suffer from various water-borne diseases because the drinking water is unsafe. 

Any villager who falls ill has to be carried by several other villagers to the nearest upazila health complex.

School students have to travel for an hour along a long hilly path to get to Kobakhali Government Primary School in Dighinala, the only school in the area. 

Parkina Chakma, a student of the school, said, "It takes an hour to get to the school because there is no road. It becomes very difficult to attend classes in the rainy season."

Villagers say they have informed the authorities about their problems, and have asked them to provide electricity and a proper road leading to the village, but to no avail.  The villagers have not even been given solar panels.  

Jahangir Hossain, chairman of Kobakhali Union Parishad, said, "The villagers have applied to the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board with a recommendation from the local member of parliament to have a road built, but that has not happened."

However, Md Kashem, chairman of Dighinala Upazila Parishad, said, "After taking responsibility, I have been implementing development projects in remote areas of the upazila under the annual development budget allocation."

He added that an effort will be made increase facilities in Vitor Tarabunia village.