Reaching JBB High School in Shantiganj upazila of Sunamganj is like following a story that changes with the seasons. During the monsoon, the area is surrounded by vast stretches of water, and students and teachers have to travel to school by boat, cutting through the water. Once the water recedes, several kilometres of barren fields lie ahead, which they have to cross on foot. Every day, students and teachers of the school in Paschimbirgaon Union make this journey. The mode of transport changes with the seasons, as does the route — but the hardship remains the same.

When the journey to school itself becomes a daily struggle for students, the same route turns into a source of uncertainty and anxiety for sick people and expectant mothers. In some places, they have to travel by boat; in others, they must cross broken sanko (local bridges made of bamboo), muddy paths and macha (makeshift bamboo platforms) to reach a healthcare centre. The communication crisis that is disrupting children’s education is also making access to emergency healthcare uncertain. The longer the journey, the greater the anxiety over reaching a healthcare centre in time.

During a visit to Sunamganj, villages scattered across the haor appeared from a distance like islands. The district town can be reached from upazila town, albeit with difficulty, via damaged paved roads. But road links between the upazila town and most villages remain disconnected. As a result, haor residents risk their lives travelling from one place to another in small and large motorised boats. Many also suffer from various waterborne diseases. But they are often deprived of healthcare because upazila health complexes lack sufficient doctors, nurses and medicines. Millions of vulnerable people in the haor region continue to struggle for survival every day amid these hardships.

During the monsoon, waterlogged patients and their relatives are the worst victims of this connectivity disruption. Taking a seriously ill person to a hospital or health centre can feel like trying to win an uncertain battle. In many cases, a patient’s condition becomes critical before reaching a healthcare facility, or the patient dies on the way.

Alimunnesa Pathan works as a Family Welfare Visitor (FWV) at the Laxmansree Union Health and Family Welfare Centre in Sunamganj Sadar upazila. One of the centre’s key responsibilities is providing services to pregnant and postpartum mothers, adolescents and children, including primary healthcare.

Describing the plight of patients travelling to the centre during the monsoon, she told Bonik Barta, “People can’t easily reach the health centre as roads and paths remain submerged. Pregnant and postpartum mothers suffer the most. During the monsoon, sanko, vela (a boat made from banana tree stems) and boats are among the main means of transport in the villages. It’s extremely dangerous for pregnant women to use sanko. Last monsoon, a woman suffered a premature miscarriage after falling from a sanko. She eventually died from excessive blood loss.

The end of the monsoon does not mean an end to these hardships. During the dry season, patients continue to suffer because of damaged roads and a shortage of transport. Alimunnesa Pathan further said, “Battery-powered auto-rickshaws are one of the main means of transport in summer. Because of the poor condition of the roads, patients from distant villages often avoid coming to the centre for fear that the jolting journey in an auto-rickshaw could cause miscarriage or bleeding. At night, there is often no transport available at all. In such cases, patients are carried on a macha. Some walk to the centre.

On the other hand, as water levels rise, several thousand primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in haor areas become submerged. Classes consequently remain suspended for several days. This leaves students facing learning gaps. Yet the government does not appear to take any initiative to make up for the lost learning. As a result, many students drop out after failing to achieve good academic results. Moreover, as people in the region are relatively poor, many families put their children to work instead of sending them to school.

Aloka Roy, an assistant teacher at Adarsha High School in Laurer Garh, Tahirpur upazila, said, “During the monsoon, students travel by boat from distant areas. This takes more time than usual, so they often miss school. During flash floods, however, students can’t come to school even by boat.” Overall, she said, the dropout rate among students in the haor region is noticeably high.

The adverse impact of poor connectivity is also directly affecting the economy of haor communities and local markets. During the dry season, people can easily walk or travel by vehicle to markets, but during the monsoon, boats are the only means of transport. Those who do not own a boat have to endure additional difficulties.

Md Syedun Noor, proprietor of Mahfuz Store in Derai Bazar, said, “A large proportion of the market’s customers are women. Women particularly make up a large share of customers at clothing and cosmetics shops. Their numbers decline during the monsoon. Overall, the number of customers also remains low. As a result, our sales decline.”