Do you know any information about Chilmari upazila of Kurigram district of Bangladesh, one of the most poverty prone areas in the world? If you don’t know, find out :
5 min readNov 30, 2020
While the overall poverty rate in Bangladesh has come down to 24.3%, the poverty rate in Kurigram district ranges from a low of 64% to a high of 77% in Chilmari Upazila.
Why and how?
Today’s Review Kurigram District of Bangladesh.
- Kurigram district is known as the most neglected and poor district of Bangladesh which consists of 9 upazilas and 4 parliamentary seats in the north-western part of Bangladesh.
- In 1929, the father of the prolific writer Syed Shamsul Huq identified Kurigram as the poorest area in the then British Bengal.
- Maria Jenin, a senior economist at the World Bank, said in a recent report that although there has been a historic change in the poverty situation in the east-west divisions of Bangladesh since 2010, the poverty rate has continued to rise in some districts of the Rangpur division.
- According to the survey conducted by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in 2016, the poverty rate in Kurigram district is 80.4%.
- According to the daily Prothom Alo( newspaper ) correspondent, about 71 out of 100 people in the district are poor, unable to provide food for their families and have little access to health care, education, clothing and so on.
- More than 4 hundred chars in Kurigram are home to 4 lakh people. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, almost all of them depend on river and char for their livelihood. They make a living by farming, fishing and that is why their poverty is constant.
- The poverty line is considered on the basis of 11 specific food items on the basis of 2,122 kcal per capita daily food expenditure in the districts. The people of Kurigram district range from 71% to 77% below that poverty line.
- Kurigram district has the highest birth rate of handicapped and disabled children due to malnutrition of mothers during pregnancy.
- Analyzing the geographical location and communication system, it is seen that half of Chilmari, Roumari, Char Rajibpur of Kurigram district is separated from the district headquarters due to Brahmaputra river, The most backward area of Bangladesh.
- Among these, the most poverty prone area in Bangladesh is Chilmari Upazila, where the poverty rate is 77%. This Upazila lags behind in food, education, healthcare and all economic activities.
Why is this the condition of the people of this region in terms of poverty?
The region is considered to be one of the most disaster prone areas in Bangladesh with a livelihood dependent on agriculture and river or char, without livelihood and suitable for employment.
- In 1974, public life became unbearable due to lack of food, clothing and shelter. There was no place to stay. People used to spend their days eating kachu, atta mari,banans thor, rice 5/6 days in a row. There were no clothes, many were dependent on a single cloth.
- The catastrophic floods of 1998 caused extensive damage to livestock and people, including roads. About 500 people died in various ways. The duration of this flood in this region was 3 months, which is an unprecedented event in the history of the world.
- The people of this area did not see the face of the sun for 10 days during the cold spell of 1997, the standard of living was severely disrupted.
- In 1995, another catastrophic flood hit.
- There was a terrible drizzle in 1994, which was the most talked about event of that time.
- The people of this region are upset as they have to deal with various disasters like river erosion, flood, drought, cold wave.
- Even in the floods of 1919-20, more than one lakh people in the rest of the area including Sadar Upazila were submerged in water. Many people had to go without food due to lack of food aid.
- Considering the poverty rate, the development allocation in this area is comparatively much less. Even then, misuse of funds and corruption in the name of tackling manga and development are commonplace.
- There are no industrial factories for employment, not even a significant contribution to job creation. Although a workplace was started in a government effort called the National Service, its publication made headlines in corruption. Those activities are also closed.
Basically, all these are the main causes of poverty in the region.
Is it possible to get rid of it?
- It is possible to improve the quality of life of the poorest people in the region and in Bangladesh by adopting and implementing long-term plans to make them self-reliant in education and technical education, health care and food in poverty alleviation, including ensuring proper use of relief activities in every natural disaster in the region. The region is a role model of poverty for the whole world, including Bangladesh, so the region is a challenge for any non-profit organization.
- Long-term planning, proper decision making on a small scale and honest implementation are enough to meet this challenge.
- Since non-profit or charitable organizations work only for the benefit of the people, working in this area is undoubtedly important for any non-profit or charitable organization to play a role in the socio-economic development of Bangladesh Appropriate place, which will be able to bring the poverty line of the whole of Bangladesh to the same level, will be able to play an invaluable role in the socio-economic development of Bangladesh.
- We believe that it is possible to bring about socio-economic development of the whole of Bangladesh if it is possible to conduct long term activities of non-profit organizations or charities in some upazilas of some districts of Rangpur division.
Do good for others.
