A severe shortage of safe drinking water has persisted for years in the hilly border areas of Durgapur upazila in Netrokona. Thousands of residents in Kullagora and Sadar unions, including villages such as Gopalpur, Bhabanipur, Fanda, Baromari, Bharatpur, and Gazikona, are forced to collect and drink dirty water from mountain streams. Locals, including elderly residents like Minati Hajong, described the daily hardship of fetching water from muddy sources, often leading to illness.

Community members expressed frustration that despite repeated appeals, no permanent solution has been implemented. Leaders from the Hajong community, including the president of the Bangladesh National Hajong Organization, urged the government to launch a large-scale project to supply clean water through pipelines. Public Health Engineering Department officials acknowledged the challenge of installing deep tube wells due to rocky soil but said a project has been proposed and will begin once approved.

Local authorities, including the upazila executive officer and the area’s member of parliament, stated that deep tube wells are being allocated and installed gradually to ensure safe water access for all affected villages.