17/09/2025
Friday morning. Sheikh Sardarpara village, under Maheshwaripur Union in Koyra, Khulna. After a night of rain, the downpour has just stopped. The slippery village path forces you to step carefully, measuring each move. Everywhere around, mud and water have merged into one. Amidst it all stands a shabby house. In front of the house, on a raised patch of soil, sits an old earthen pot. From the roof, a rusted piece of tin is tied with rope. Pieces of broken tin are attached to its edge, directing raindrops into the pot below.
Standing nearby, 70-year-old Chhobi Run Begum scoops the collected rainwater with a mug and pours it into a bucket. Inside the house, her daughter-in-law, Fazila Khatun, steps forward. She herself had devised this simple way to harvest rainwater. “Drinking water is our biggest struggle,” she says. “When it rains, we collect this water and drink it. But for bathing, we must use the salty river water. And when there’s no rain, we take a boat far away to fetch pond water for drinking.”
Stepping out from Chhobi Run’s home, the same picture unfolds all around. In some courtyards, polythene sheets are tied to channel rainwater into pots and pans; in others, makeshift rainwater harvesting systems are set up using plastic drums under the roof edges. Alongside the daily struggle to earn a living, collecting water itself is a battle for survival.
The story of Sheikh Sardarpara mirrors that of the entire Koyra upazila. Locals explain that in Maheshwaripur, Bagali, Amadi, Maharajpur, and Sadar unions—all located near the Sundarbans—freshwater scarcity persists year-round. Tube wells exist, but the water they yield is saline. So rainwater and faraway ponds remain the only lifelines.
By the Sheikh Sardarpara riverside, a sip of the Koyra River water reveals its salinity has lessened somewhat due to the monsoon rains. But in the dry season, it is undrinkable. Asma Khatun was seen returning home, balancing a pitcher of river water over the embankment.