Char Chakla village on the banks of the Padma in Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila is in mourning after five children drowned in a tributary of the Padma. Five children have been buried side by side in the village cemetery. Although the death of so many children at once has never happened before, children drown in this village every year. However, there are no trained rescue workers in this area. There is also no necessary awareness. The locals are furious about this.
The deceased on Friday were Masud’s daughter Sumaiya (10) and her younger sister Areeba (8) of Char Chakla village, Shariful’s daughter Sharifa (12), Nizamuddin’s daughter Sumaiya (12) and her younger sister Suraiya (9). All of them are students of Char Chakla Government Primary School.
The victim’s friend, Shishu Suraiya, said that since school was closed on Friday, five family members went to bathe in the river together without being noticed. One by one, they drowned. Sumaiya and Areeba came to call her for a bath too. She did not go for a bath out of fear of her father.
Atiqur Rahman, a college student from Char Chakla village, said, “Every year, children die due to drowning in our area. Even if we inform the fire service personnel when someone drowns, it takes one to one and a half hours to arrive.” There are no trained rescue workers in the area to rescue drowning children. There are even no awareness programs in the area. It seems that children will die year after year, this is the fate of the people of this area.” He also said that the government should conduct some awareness programs centered on primary schools. A volunteer rescue team can also be prepared locally. The government can do this very easily if it wants. We want such steps from the government.
Another person named Md. Shukuraddi from the same area said, “To reach our village, we have to cross a river. There is no paved road to the village. That is why children drown every year, but we are not getting any solution in this regard. The government has no initiative to prevent child deaths due to drowning. However, the family keeps a close eye on the children. Accidents happen only when they are out of sight. The 5 children who died today also went to bathe in a tributary of the Padma without the knowledge of their families.”
A man named Abdur Rahman said, “Five children were buried side by side. Never before have so many graves been dug at once. May Allah make these children dwellers in Paradise.”
Debinagar Union Parishad Chairman Hafizur Rahman said, “This is the first such accident in the area. We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of five children. An atmosphere of mourning prevails in the entire area due to this incident.”
Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Maruf Afzar Rajan said, awareness programs are being conducted in different areas to reduce deaths due to drowning. In Chapainawabganj, we are conducting mosque-centered and school-centered awareness programs regarding deaths due to drowning and deaths due to lightning. However, there are no locally trained rescue workers or programs to teach children how to swim in remote areas. We will definitely discuss the matter with the higher authorities. We have the opportunity and we will try.
