Drinking water services in the primary schools: evidence from coastal areas in Bangladesh.

Salinity intrusion both in surface and groundwater caused a crisis for safe drinking water in coastal Bangladesh. The situation is even worse for children especially at school. However, information on water services in coastal schools is limited. Here we assess the quality of drinking water and supply infrastructures in the primary schools of a severely saline affected coastal area of Bangladesh. To fulfill the objective, thirty-eight schools were purposively selected and investigated in Dacope Upazila of Khulna district in Bangladesh. Findings revealed that harvested rainwater (63%) and pond (21%) are the major drinking water sources where countries' leading water supply technology, tube well (16%) were the least used option. Moreover, salinity in all the tube wells exceeded the national standard. DO, pH, NO3, SO4 and PO4 concentration of all options satisfied national standards. However, total coliform counts exceeded the national standard. More than half of the samples had a low to high risk of indicator bacteria which is a major public health concern. Although 29% schools have installed portable water filtration units, those are grossly inaccessible for the students. Hence, students are reportedly consuming unsafe drinking water, and thus are vulnerable to water-borne diseases. The lack of resources and poorly designed infrastructure are the principal challenges to the safe drinking water supply. Therefore, disinfection at the point of use along with proper maintenance of the water infrastructure is urgent needs to safeguard potable water services in the primary schools of coastal Bangladesh.

Community engagement and public education in northwestern part of Bangladesh: A study regarding heritage conservation.

Heritage management is important to conserve the identity of history and culture, which can generate economic activity, enhance aesthetics, increase surrounding land value, and transfer knowledge from generation to generation. Bangladesh is a land that belongs to various forms of heritage, and Rajshahi city is not an exception with different cultural and natural heritage. Overpopulation growth, unplanned urbanization, poor infrastructure, and weak urban management are imposing risks on deteriorating heritage in current days. This study was conducted to rummage the involvement of community people in imperishability and management of heritage in the Rajshahi City Corporation of Bangladesh. To fulfill the objectives, 205 individual surveys, 3 Focus Group Discussions, and 10 Key Informant Interviews were conducted to ascertain public engagement and their visualization in respect to predicament of heritage, conservation, and the way for the future. Findings reveal that 95% of respondents thought that all the heritages express the identity of Rajshahi, where around 30% of people identified some heritages as directly or indirectly related to their family. Besides, 56.67% of people strongly expressed their views that they want to conserve their heritage through the development process, while 34.17% usually accept this argument. This research also shows a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) matrix regarding heritage management, where a priority and decision matrix have been carried out to a certain internal and external factors for heritage conservation. This research thus expected to help different people from government, non-government and local people take action regarding different forms of heritage conservation in Bangladesh.

Corrigendum to "Climate change impacts and adaptations on health of Internally Displaced People (IDP): An exploratory study on coastal areas of Bangladesh" [Heliyon 6 (9) (September 2020) Article e05018]".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05018.].

Climate change impacts and adaptations on health of Internally Displaced People (IDP): An exploratory study on coastal areas of Bangladesh.

Every year thousands of people are being displaced in coastal areas of Bangladesh due to natural calamities associated with climate change, known as Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs). Climate change adaptation measures play a significant role in coping with the alteration of climatic components, while various forms of barriers hinder the sustainability of adaptation. This research was conducted to understand the perception of IDPs on climate change impact on health in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, including the adaptation practices and barriers to the coping strategies. To fulfill the objective, 420 individual surveys were conducted randomly in two Sub-districts of Khulna district in Bangladesh. The findings reveal that the riverbank erosion and cyclones were the primary reasons for displacement, and the social relationships were hampered in the new places of living. Also, the temperature in summer and winter, and the rainfall intensity increased, whereas rainfall slightly decreased over the last ten years. Differences of opinion were identified about the effects of the changing climatic variables on the respondents' health between the previous and present locations. Despite practicing different adaptive strategies, the weak financial condition and a lack of access to health care information are mostly hindering the sustainability of adaptation. This research may help policymakers in taking proper initiatives to ensure sustainable adaptation practices in the coastal areas.