1. Internship Report Exploration of Pipeline Water System in Doldoli Tea Garden and its Feasibility from a Planning Perspective September 2011

2. i Internship Report Exploration of Pipeline Water System in Doldoli Tea Garden and its Feasibility from a Planning Perspective Submitted by Shahadat Hossain Shakil Student of Level-4/Term-2 Department of Urban and Regional Planning Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Supervised by Shamim Ahmed Assistant Program Coordinator, Equity and Inclusion WaterAid in Bangladesh September 2011

3. ii Acknowledgement I want to express my gratitude to WaterAid in Bangladesh for giving me this chance to work with them. I would like to acknowledge my supervisor Shamim Ahmed (Assisstant Program Coordinator Equity & Inclusion) for his regular guidance. Thank goes to Pankaj Ghosh Dostider (Project Manager, IDEA) and Rantu Das (Field Engineer, IDEA) for their cordial help during the field trip in Sylhet. Finally I want to thank my thesis supervisor Dr. Ishrat Islam (Assistant Professor, DURP, BUET) for her guidance and help.

4. iii Abstract Tea is one of the most important foreign revenue earning products in Bangladesh. This success is led by the intense hard work of the tea garden laborers. Though they work really hard, they are deprived from some basic human rights. They lead a very pitiable life in consideration of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH). Doldoli tea garden is not an exception. The main objective of this internship report is to explore the existing pipe line water supply system in Doldoli and come up with some possible recommendations for its restoration process. The existing water supply option has been evaluated as a part of the short study and supplementary actions have been anticipated considering various socio-economic factors.

5. iv Table of Contents Contents Page No Title Page i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iii Table of Contents iv Lists of Illustration vi Chapter 01: Introduction (Page 1-4) 1.1 Background of the Study 1 1.2 Literature Review 1 1.3 Main Objective 2 1.3.1 Specific Objectives 2 1.4 Justification 2 1.5 Study Design 3 1.6 Scope of the Study 3 1.7 Study Area Profile 3 Chapter 02: Exploration of the Existing Pipeline Water System (Page 5-8) 2.1 Present Physical Condition 5 2.2 Problems Identified 6 2.3 Effects of the Problems 7 2.4 Assessment of the Water Facilities 7 2.5 Feasibility of the Pipeline Water System 7 2.6 Evaluation of the Proposed Renovation 8

6. v Chapter 03: Findings and Recommendations (Page 9-10) 3.1 Overall Findings 9 3.2 Short Term Recommendations - Low Cost 9 3.3 Long Term Recommendations - High Cost 9 3.4 Conclusion 10 References Appendices (Page I-VII) A - Existing Water Supply Point and Tube Well List I B - Map of Doldoli Tea Garden III C - Identified Locations for Pipe Line Repairing IV D - Pictures of Present Physical Condition and Problems Identified V E - Proposed New Water Supply Points and Tube Wells VII

7. vi List of Illustration List of Figures Page No. Figure 1.1 : Map of Sylhet Sadar Upazilla 4 Figure 1.2 : Study Area of Doldoli Tea Garden 4 Figure 2.1: Water Supply Platform 8 Figure 2.2 : Bathing Facility in the Platform 8 Figure 2.3 : Proposed Water Supply Platform 8 Figure 2.4 : Proposed Bathing Facility 8 List of Tables Page No. Table 2.1: At a Glance Water Supply Facility in Doldoli Tea Garden 5

8. 1 | P a g e Chapter - 01: Introduction 1.1 Background of the Study Bangladesh is an agro based developing country. It is facing numerous problems regarding water, sanitation and hygiene since its birth. This problem is more severe in the north-east part of (Sylhte Division) the country where majority [135 (Banglapedia, 2006)] of the tea gardens are located. The overall statistics of access to safe water is 85.5% (GOB & UNICEF, 2009) but in the study area of this report (Doldoli Tea Garden; Sylhet Sadar) it is 74.8% (WaterAid & IDEA , 2010). Among 198 households (in the selected study area) only 34 have pipeline water system (Field Survey: 2011).Tea-community (tea laborers) facing this kind of problem more than other because of their extreme poverty and lack of education. Equity and Inclusion program of WaterAid Bangladesh aims to eradicate poverty of the tea community by providing admittance to safe access to water, sanitation and hygiene. Under this program WaSH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) project is being implemented with incorporation with the local partner IDEA (Institute of Development Affairs). Among the four tea gardens (Lakkatura, Doldoli, Borjan and Cheragong) of the WaSH project, Doldoli tea gardens pipeline water system has been selected as the study topic of this report. 1.2 Literature Review History of Bangladesh tea industry dates back to around 1823 when tea started to be grown for commercial purposes in the Assam forests. The first commercial tea plantation was established in 1857 in Mulnichera in Sylhet. (Banglapedia, 2006) Tea is the one of the major exporting product in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the 10th tea producing country and 9th tea exporting country in the world. There are 164 tea gardens in Bangladesh in 7 districts. Tea is cultivated in 115,757 hectare land areas in Bangladesh. There are 90 tea gardens in Moulvibazar, 20 in Sylhet, 23 in Habigonj, 21 in Chittagong, 1 in Rangamati, 1 in Brahmanbaria and 8 in Panchaghar district. A Total of 359,085 people live in tea garden areas. 89,812 registered laborers and 19,592 casual laborers are working in the tea gardens. (Rahman, 2007) During its initial stage, plantation in Bangladesh faced acute shortage of labor. No local workers were willing to do this job since it is very hard and labor intensive. The colonial British Government deployed indentured immigrants to meet this shortage.

9. 2 | P a g e Tea plantation workers in Bangladesh came mostly from the backward class and tribal areas of central India and regions of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. The present work force in the tea plantation sector of Bangladesh is the fourth generation of those indentured immigrants. (Majumder, 2001) Productivity of the tea plantation workers in Bangladesh is far less than that of the other tea producing countries in Asia and Africa. In addition to crop yield, a large number of factors have contributed to the low productivity of tea plantation workers in Bangladesh. Among these factors, socio-cultural and religious barriers; geographical isolation and bonded nature of workers, very low education and poor health status of the workers; extremely inadequate wages and fringe benefits; low quality and quantity of benefits in kind; and uncongenial working conditions are the most influential ones. These factors deprive the tea plantation workers from their basic right to decent work. This deprivation greatly deteriorates the labor standards of the tea plantation industry in Bangladesh. (Majumder, 2001) 1.3 Main Objective To assess the proposed pipeline water system in Doldoli tea garden. 1.3.1 Specific Objectives To assess the existing pipeline water system in Doldoli tea garden and proposed renovations. To assess the water facilities in Doldoli tea garden from a planners perspective and make recommendations for program incorporation 1.4 Justification Safe water supply system is very crucial for livelihood, sanitation and hygiene. In Doldoli tea garden any kind of natural water option other than pipeline water system is absent. Few ring well and shallow tube is there but in a non functioning state. It will be described in detail in the next chapter. Pipeline water system has been provided by the tea garden authority in near about 1980. The number of supply points1 (34) is now very insufficient if considered with the demand. Condition of the pipeline water system network is very vulnerable due to lack of maintenance. This causes contamination and worsening the water quality. So a 1 Pipeline is extended from the main pipeline water system to a specific location for providing water to a few household.

10. 3 | P a g e comprehensive study was needed to improve the pipeline water system in Doldoli to achieve the Goal of this project. 1.5Study Design This one month internship project has been designed in the following way. Project has been assigned by the Assistant Program Coordinator (APC) of Equity and Inclusion program of WaterAid Bangladesh. Preliminary information about the project and the study area has been gathered. Then a Seven (7) day field trip has been made. During the early period of the field trip all the relevant data and maps regarding the project have been collected from the local partners (IDEA) office in Sylhtet. In the later part field survey; informal discussions with the workers, community leaders and tea garden authority; map production of the whole study area indicating the supply network have been done. Visit to number of household with the Field Engineer of IDEA has been performed to visualize their problems and their need. In the next stage all data, maps and pictures were analyzed to find out the sustainable and best fit solution for short-run and long-run. A report and PowerPoint presentation have been prepared. 1.6 Scope of the Study Through this study the renovation options for pipeline water system of Doldoli can be figured out. The immediate need and longer version need regarding water supply can be explored through the direct consultation with the workers. Sustainable strategies can be formulated which fulfills the goal of the WaSH project as per the community requirement. The main constraint of this study was the limited time frame of the internship which is only one month. So only seven days field trip had been made to manage the schedule effectively. Another constraint is absence of accurate base map of the study area, for this study which is very crucial. Nevertheless best effort has been given to find out the sustainable solution. 1.7Study Area Profile Doldoli tea garden is North-West side of Sylhet Sadar Upazilla. Its near the Shahi Eidgah and Scholars Home School of Sylhet. Two map indicating the location of Doldoli within Sylhet Sadar is presented below.

11. 4 | P a g e Figure 1.1: Map of Sylhet Sadar Upazilla Figure 1.2: Study Area of Doldoli Tea Garden The area of Doldoli tea garden workers living is subdivided into four lines/zones. They are Pashchim Line, Chanmari Line, Mandob Line and Muslim Line. There is no pipeline water system facility in Muslim Line so its not included in this report. There are total 271(198 in the selected 3 zones) households in this garden. Total population is 1358. Among them 685 persons are male and 673 are female. Almost every single family has one or two person working in the garden. Working in the garden is their main occupation. New generations are now switching to other professions outside the garden which is experienced during the field survey. There is no government school inside the garden though it is the responsibility of the tea garden authority to ensure this facility. There is no medical center or recreational facilities in the garden. Brac and UCEP are working with the primary school going children. IDEA is working with the WaSH program which is supported by WaterAid Bangladesh. Though the main focus of this report is to assess the pipeline water system but from the field survey other problems have also been identified. They are Sanitation and Drugs. Sanitation practice among the tea garden workers is largely absent. Ground water and supply water contamination is also closely related with that. Drugs are cheaply available because of close proximity with the border.

12. 5 | P a g e Chapter - 02: Exploration of the Existing Pipeline Water System 2.1 Present Physical Condition During the field survey in the three para (Pashchim Line, Chanmari Line and Mandob Line) of this tea garden total 34 water supply points is identified. Out of these 34 points, 6 supply points are for the stuff of the tea garden. So the worker cant use it. Consulting with the operator of the water supply pump of the garden Ganeshda (he is also the head of the Panchayet committee) it was found that total 10-12 supply points are provided by the garden authority at the beginning. Rests of the points are extended by the workers with their own cost. In total 8 shallow tube wells were found. Among them only 4 were working. Present physical condition of water supply is described in a tabular format below. Table 2.1: At a Glance Water Supply Facility in Doldoli Tea Garden Para Name No. of HH Total Popn No. of Supply Point (34) No. of Shallow Tube Well (8) No. of Ring Well (1)With Tap Without Tap Functioning Non Functioning Pashchim Line 77 353 7 5 2 1 1 Chanmari Line 29 214 2 2 0 1 0 Mandob Line 92 445 10 8 0 4 0 Total 198 (Excluding Pashchim Line) 1012 19 15 2 6 1 From the table it can be summarize that one supply point is available for near about 6 families (198 families/34 supply points). The alternative options are also very insufficient. The data sheet regarding the supply points and tube well location is attached in Appendix-A. The map showing the location of all the supply points is attached in Appendix-B.

13. 6 | P a g e 2.2 Problems Identified Insufficient Supply: To serve near about 1400 population there is only one water pump. In addition during the time of power failure water supply is seriously disrupted. Fixed Time Frame: Supply is provided during 3 fixed periods in a day. They are 6.00 AM 8.00 AM; 1.00 PM 2.00 PM and 5.00 PM 7.00 PM. During consultation with Ganeshda he said We have only one pump. It will not be able to take the load if we continuously run it for the whole day. Thats why we only provide water at peak times of the day. The amount of water is sufficient. Reverse image is found when taking an informal interview of a women named Sumitra Das. She said Supply is not enough. During morning and in the evening necessity of water reaches the peak. In that time we have to wait a long time to get water because of long serial in front of the supply tap. When the power is out, pump is not functioning and the tube well does not work, we are in big trouble. We have to collect water outside of the garden then Absence of Water Tap and Pucca Platform: Out of 34 water supply points only 19 have tap or flow controlling facility. Rests 15 are just open pipes. There is no flow controlling facilities there which causes wastage of water in several places. Absence of any kind of pucca platform near/under the water supply point is also noticed. Causing unhygienic condition during and after the collection period. Non-functioning Shallow Tube Well: Among 8 tube wells found half of those are not working anymore because of low water table. Others are also in a risk of being closed down. Absence of Natural Source: A pond is there but its dry because of very low water table. Any kind of Chara, Jhorna, Canal is absent in the nearest locality. So they are dependent on the pipeline water system. Its a huge drawback. Leakage in the Pipeline Water System: During field survey 8 locations have been identified having serious damage and leakage in the pipeline water system network. This threatens health of the workers through water contamination. List of identified location of pipeline leakage is attached in Appendix-C. Inefficient Distribution of the Water Supply Points: Supply points are distributed in a scattered way not considering the geographical and density factor. This is because of the financial capability of the workers who could extend the line to his/her house. This way the better off sections enjoying the better opportunity now. People in the

14. 7 | P a g e upper hills having no money and power are suffering the most. Relevant pictures regarding present physical condition and problems identified are attached in Appendix-D. 2.3 Effects of the Problems Supply is not sufficient to fulfill day long demand quite efficiently. This problem is found to be more acute during weekends and other holidays. Long waiting hours for collecting water. As water points are limited Collection of water is challenging work for the women and children living in the upper hills. Only a few houses have storage option. Thats why they have to travel 3-4 time or more to collect water. Wastage of water due to the absence of any kind of taps or flow controlling mechanisms in most of the supply points. Leakage in pipeline and absence of pucca platform in the supply points threatens the quality of water and crates health related diseases. 2.4 Assessment of the Water Facilities Pipeline water system is the key option. This is because of absence of any other natural alternatives. The only alternative which is tube well is not properly working in many cases. Low water table because of high altitude location is the main reason. The tube wells are free from Arsenic, Iron and others ground water contaminations. So deep tube wells can be sustainable alternatives. Pipeline water system should be renovated for leakage and extended where needed. This should be done considering the density and altitude location of the houses. New supply points and tube wells should be given considering the greater catchment area of that providing location. 2.5 Feasibility of the Pipeline Water System Supplying water through the pipeline water system network is a must in this area because of absence of any other water option. Water supply controlling facilities together with maintenance knowledge in the community is needed to sustain this key option in this garden.

15. 8 | P a g e Figure 2.1: Water Supply Platform Figure 2.2: Bathing Facility in the Platform Figure 2.3: Proposed Water Supply Platform Figure 2.4: Proposed Bathing Facility 2.6 Evaluation of the Proposed Renovation IDEA (supported by WaterAid) has constructed two water supply platforms together with bathing facilities in two household. This has been highly appreciated by the community inhabitants. This system of renovation provides privacy and good hygiene practice among the inhabitants but the household just beside that enjoys more benefit. If more households to be served with the limited budget then the following type of structure can be suggested. Two taps in a single column with a pucca platform can be constructed. For providing the bathing facility a small pucca platform with tree leaves shading/surrounding can be suggested. This will serve the purpose as well as create hygiene behavior among the community. The shaded bathing facility with pucca platform is already experienced in some of the household. This will reduce the location disparity among the household by providing more platform for water supply within the limited budget.

16. 9 | P a g e Chapter - 03: Findings and Recommendations 3.1 Overall Findings Pipeline water system is a must in this area but needed extensive renovation. Alternative sources have to be built to meet up the demand in the emergency time. Knowledge regarding health and hygiene among the inhabitants is almost absent. Sustainable solutions have to be provided allowing different socio-economic factors. 3.2 Short Term Recommendations - Low Cost (Arranged According to Priority Basis) First. Providing water tap in the needed supply points (15) with pucca platform. Second. Repair the leakage in pipeline network. Selected points (8) are listed in Appendix-C. Third. Providing bathing facility with a pucca platform and shading. 3.3 Long Term Recommendations - High Cost (Arranged According to Priority Basis) First. Providing new 6 water supply points. The locations of these new points are listed in Appendix-E. They are also indicated in the map of Appendix-B. This 6 location has been determined considering various socio-economic factors like density, distance from house and deprived houses for high altitude. The vital aspect considered while selecting these locations is consultation with the local community. Any kind of influence or biasness is tried to avoid during selecting these new locations. Second. Providing 3 deep tube well in 3 prime location of this area to cover the whole area. This tube wells will be act as the alternative source of water. Their location is also listed in Appendix-E and indicated in the map of Appendix-B. Third. Large scale renovation of the pipeline water system network including excavation in the ground to put the pipeline network inside in many places. This will reduce further leakage possibility in the long run and possibility of future health hazard. Fourth. Providing water supply platform with bathing facility in every water supply point step by step what IDEA and WaterAid has already provided in two locations. Fifth. Replacing the non functioning shallow tube well with the deeper ones step by step. Sixth. Providing deep tube well in every water supply point in the future to ensure long term sustainable solution. Seventh. Another water pump (motor) should be provided to ensure the day long supply. Eighth. Creating awareness regarding hygiene and maintenance of the provided facilities.

17. 10 | P a g e 3.4 Conclusion Workers of the Doldoli tea garden lead a very measurable life in consideration of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. They are totally dependent upon the tea garden authority for pipeline water system. The lack of motivation and willingness of the respective authority for renovation of this pipeline water system network leaded this into a bad condition in course of time. This pipeline network requires immediate improvement. Some needed urgently and some are needed in the long run which is already mentioned earlier. Improvement measures should be taken to serve all the inhabitants equally. Finally it can be stated that if this renovation program implemented successfully it will help the tea community of this garden to enhance their quality of life remarkably.

18. References: Banglapedia. (2006). Tea Industry. Retrieved September 3, 2011, from Banglapedia(National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh): http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/T_0100.HTM BTB. (2007). Retrieved August 9, 2011, from Bangladesh Tea Board: http://www.teaboard.gov.bd/ GOB & UNICEF. (2009). Bangladesh Mutiple Indicator Cluster Survey . Switzerland: WHO Press. Majumder, P. P. (2001). Working Conditions in the Bangladesh Tea Plantation Industry. In ILO, Labour and Social Issues in Plantation in South Asia (pp. 79-132). India: Publication of the International Labour Office. Rahman, A. (2007, December 30). Muktomancho. Retrieved August 3, 2011, from Shamokal: http://www.samakal.com.bd/archive/details.php?news=10&view=archiev&y=2007&m=12& d=30&action=main&menu_type=&option=single&news_id=76744&pub_no=739&type= WaterAid & IDEA. (2010). Project Proposal for WaSH Project. Sylhet, Bangladeh.

19. I Appendix-A Existing Water Supply Point List: Sr. No. HH Name Fathers Name Area/Para Name No. of HH Covers Comments 01 03 02 03 03 10 04 05 05 01 06 03 07 05 08 05 09 05 10 05 11 07 12 01 13 06 14 03 15 05 16 07 17 02 18 14 19 12 20 15 21 01 22 10 23 12 24 05 25 04 26 03 27 01 28 02 29 Office - 00 30 - 01 31 - 01 32 - 01 33 - 01 34 - 01

20. II Existing Tube Well List: Sr. No. HH Name Fathers Name Area/Para Name No. of HH Covers Comments 01 05 02 05 03 08 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 02 08 01

21. III Appendix-B Map of Doldoli Tea Garden Showing Existing and Proposed Water Supply Points and Tube Well Locations

22. IV Appendix-C Identified Locations for Pipe Line Repairing: . . . . . .Primary School/ . .

23. V Appendix-D Pictures of Present Physical Condition and Problems Identified Figure: Water Supply without Water Tap Figure: Pipe Network is exposed above the Ground Figure: Nonfunctioning Shallow Tube Well Figure: Unhygienic Condition at Supply Point

24. VI Figure: Absence of Platform and Water Tap Figure: Exposed Pipe Network in Tilla Figure: Long Serial for Water Collection Figure: Tap is Unused for the Absence of Platform

25. VII Appendix-E Proposed New Water Supply Points: Sr. No. Household Name Location 01 02 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 Proposed New Tube Well Locations: Sr. No. Household Name Location 01 02 03