Residents of Alikadam in Bandarban are experiencing a severe water shortage as summer begins. Many are resorting to drinking contaminated water from canals and springs, increasing the risk of water-borne diseases.

Daily, women in Alikadam Sadar Union endure hours in the sun to collect water from tube wells, often coming away with just one or two pitchers. The crisis is particularly acute in the hilly villages of No. 3 Nayapara and No. 4 Kurukpata unions, with wards 3, 4, and 5 of Alikadam Sadar Union and wards 3, 4, 8, and 9 of Nayapara Union being the hardest hit.

Mayeshing Marma from Ward 3's Mongshipu Para mentioned that their local tube well broke down last year, forcing them to fetch water from the river.

A water treatment plant project started on June 11, 2011, with a budget of Tk2.15 crore, was abandoned after two reservoirs were built. Despite a Tk9.46 crore allocation in 2020 for the plant’s reconstruction, the water supply ceased in April last year, leaving Tk11.5 crore spent without providing water to the residents.

Sajeda Begum and Rohana Akhtar from Ward 5 noted that only one tube well in their area produces water during the dry season. They blame authorities' negligence and lack of public representative lobbying for the incomplete water treatment plant.

Residents report that shallow ring wells and tube wells installed during the monsoon run dry in the dry season. The only functional tube well in Ward 5 is 30 years old. Male Mro from Ward 7 in Kurukpata Union stated they rely on a local water body as there's no alternative.

Sadar Union Chairman Nasir Uddin acknowledged the crisis, attributing it to authority negligence. Efforts to contact Mohammad Halim, assistant engineer of Alikadam upazila of Public Health, were unsuccessful.