Water coming out of a crack in the banks of the Choto Jamuna River in Joypurhat has created curiosity in the area. Local residents are collecting and drinking water from there, believing it to be miraculous, in the hope of curing diseases. However, doctors have said that there is a risk of contracting various diseases from drinking the impure water.
This water has been coming out from a crack under a pillar on the south side of the old bridge in Kuthibari, Sadar Upazila, for about a week. People are flocking there every day after hearing the news. Many are rushing from the surrounding areas. However, no one has been able to provide accurate information about the source of the water.
There are two bridges side by side in the Kuthibari area of the Chhota Jamuna River. After the new one was commissioned, the old bridge was declared abandoned. When we went there on Monday afternoon, we saw that water was coming out of a small crack near the pillar on the south side of the old bridge. A two and a half hand long donga (round tin sheet) has been placed at its mouth, through which water is flowing into the river. And there are several children, teenagers and women standing there with bottles in their hands. They are collecting water by holding the bottles at the mouth of the donga. Sometimes clear water, sometimes sandy or dirty water is flowing into the river through the donga. However, the river embankment behind the tunnel and the surrounding area are dry.
Some locals said they saw water coming there a week ago. Later, a young man put a boat at the mouth of the tunnel. The water was flowing directly into the river. After the matter became known, local men and women came there. They filled bottles with it, thinking it was ‘miraculous’ water.
A housewife named Lipi Begum came there on Monday to collect water. She said that she has heard that many people have recovered after drinking this ‘miraculous’ water. Her younger daughter is sick. That is why she came to collect water. For now, she is going home with two bottles of water.
Regarding the matter, Mahbub Hossain, a local resident of Kuthibari area, said, “This is not something miraculous. There is sand on the bank. I think tidal water is flowing from the sand. People are coming to drink this water in bottles to cure diseases. However, I have not heard of anyone being cured of their disease yet. Even then, people come from far and wide to get water every day.”
Sardar Rashed Mubarak, superintendent of Joypurhat General Hospital, said, “This water is impure. If someone drinks the water, they may get infected with water-borne diseases like diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, and jaundice.” He will report the incident to the police.
Source: Prothom Alo
