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| NORTHWEST
BANGLADESH |
RDRS works
exclusively in Northwest Bangladesh,
the northernmost area of the country,
known as greater Rangpur-Dinajpur
in Rajshahi Division. Its current
working area covers 37 Upazilas
(sub-districts) of 7 (Include Rangpur),
Districts namely Dinajpur, Thakurgaon,
Panchagarh, Nilphamari, Kurigram
& Lalmonirhat in the greater
Rangpur-Dinajpur region in the northwest
part of Bangladesh. Presently this
includes 307 Unions – the |
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lowest
tier of local government and extends
into the riverine belt to include
the islands and sandbars in the
River Brahmaputra. The area is generally
very low-lying, and crisscrossed
by river systems. The total working
area is 5,498 sq. with a population
of 6.2 million. Total participants
in the RDRS programme are approximately
1.5 million, including health and
at least two-thirds are women. Rangpur
is around 250 kilometers north of
the capital Dhaka, and now well
connected by road since the Jamuna
Bridge was completed. |
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The northwest
Bangladesh is historically more neglected
and poor. The soil tends to be sandy and
water tables deeper than in other regions.
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Environmentally
RDRS working area is vulnerable to frequent
natural disasters. People face catastrophe
like cyclones during summer, floods and
river-bank erosion in the rainy season,
drought in summer, spring and cold wave
in winter. |
THE
BANGLADESH YEAR |
| January |
Cold,
Drought, Lean Season |
| April |
Cyclone,
Stroms |
| July |
Monsoons,
Floods, River erosion, Lean Season |
| October |
Drought,
Cold, Lean Season |
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Figure:
RDRS Working MAP
Lacking any significant
industrial development agriculture is the
mainstay of the economy and main source
of employment. The spread of irrigation
has reduced the extent of the lean season
but remains problematic |
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RDRS
has a strong commit-ment to and receives
respect from the people of the northwest.
After providing humanitarian assistance
to refugees in camps across the border
in India, RDRS returned with them
to focus in the northwest and contribute
to the huge task of rehabilitation.
When RDRS first began inside the country,
most roads were earth-filled the few
bridges and culverts damaged and no
other NGOs operated. RDRS has assisted
the people develop and played an important
role in the |
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development of road systems,public
services (bridges, culverts, clinics,
schools) and flood shelters and in
the greening of the landscape through
afforestation, crop diversification
and irrigation and in the education
and organisations of the rural poor. |
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