GovTwin / Institution

Harinakunda (Jhenaidah)

Local Gov

A northwestern Jhenaidah upazila on the dry plain near the Kumar river, with a paddy, vegetable and date-palm rural economy and thin off-farm work.

Wealth rank 149/452 (1 = poorest upazila)

Indicators: Meta RWI (HDX); ERA5-Land; MODIS; Sentinel-5P; VIIRS night-lights; GHSL; Hansen v1.11; CHIRPS v2.0. Exposure: GloFAS v2.1, FABDEM, MODIS LST, ACAG PM2.5, WorldPop 2020.

Problems and issues

poverty Household wealth is below average, with a Relative Wealth Index mean of -0.143 (national rank 149 of 452, fourth-poorest decile). So what: Limited off-farm income leaves households exposed in a thin rural economy. Source: Meta Data for Good Relative Wealth Index (HDX)
water Very little permanent surface water leaves the upazila dependent on groundwater for dry-season irrigation and drinking. So what: Aquifer dependence threatens dry-season water security. Source: Department of Public Health Engineering
air quality Brick kilns and dry-season crop-residue burning over the southwest plain drive particulate haze. So what: Seasonal haze degrades local air quality. Source: Department of Environment

Probable solutions

Expand dry-season surface-water harvesting through re-excavation of khals and ponds with monitored conjunctive use. Responsible: Bangladesh Water Development Board and Department of Public Health Engineering · policy proposal
Scale agro-processing of date-palm jaggery and vegetables with cold-chain and SME credit to add off-farm income. Responsible: Department of Agricultural Extension and SME Foundation · policy proposal