Known as 'The Roof of Rangamati', Sajek valley is tauted as an emerging popular tourist spot of Bangladesh. The scenic forests, mountains and clouds of this largest union in north of Chittagong Hills Tracts can easily make a tourist feel adored in the bosom of mother nature. And of course, the gleaming resorts, luxurious greys of concrete will give the best experience with picturesque greenery.
But it's just one side of the coin. Beneath this natural and human-made beauty, there lies a painful truth.
Some of the indigenous people came to Sajek seeking shelter after the Kaptai Dam had flooded their very own homes and their best arable areas in 1960. They came here to make a trial of their luck hoping for "homes". But seems like their sorrows never intended to leave them. 60 families of the Khuki community were evicted from their own lands to turn the Sajek valley into a tourist spot.
The people of Sajek union now live under-privileged miserable lives. Poverty, food crisis, health crisis are their constant companions. The people, specially the children, in Sajek are at great risk of diseases because of the lack of vaccination, medicines and proper treatment. Pneumonia, poxes, measles are common there.
Despite the "development" taking place in Bangladesh, the people in Sajek are still deprived of electricity whereas an electricity producing hydroelectric dam was built on the graves of their homes(Kaptai Dam). Because of the absence of electricity and for being a hilly area, they are constantly facing the scarcity of drinking water.
Tourism in Chittagong Hill Tracts comes at a cost of the livelihood and existence of the indigenous people. In other words, 'tourism is a curse for them'.
Written by Neeti Chakma
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