Residents of Alikadam upazila in Bandarban are facing a severe shortage of safe drinking water as a long-delayed water purification project remains incomplete. The project, launched about ten years ago with funding from the Bandarban Hill District Council and implemented by the Department of Public Health Engineering, was halted within six months due to financial constraints. Despite repeated development initiatives in the district, the crucial project has not resumed.

Field reports indicate that for the past three months, Alikadam town and nearby hilly areas have been experiencing an acute water crisis. In response, the Bangladesh Army’s Alikadam Zone has been distributing drinking water to affected residents. Locals allege that small-scale ring-well projects are approved annually but are only implemented after the rainy season begins, limiting their effectiveness.

A local primary school headteacher said that both drinking and household water are scarce in the Panbazar area. The local public health engineer confirmed hearing about a new allocation of 4.6 million taka for the unfinished purification project, but work has yet to restart.