Kaptai Lake which is located in Rangamati Hill District is the largest artificial lake in Bangladesh. A Popular tourist destination where people visit to see this amazing lake. For visiting this destination , foreigner need special permission.
This lake may a great place to visit and spend some good time for the people of outside hill.
But for the local indigenous people, this place is the site of a heartbreaking event "the great exodus.”
For this Kaptai Lake more than 100,000 local people were displaced most of them were Chakmas and Reang( A sub tribe of Tipra Community). So they were forced to migrate to India, a neighbouring country over 45000 Chakmas and Reangs.
Kaptai Dam was built in 1962 for the creation of A Hydropower Station in Karnafuli.
A Story of Indigenous Woman
My name is Indira Reang and I am 70 years old. I married in 1956 and moved to my in-laws house in Rangamati Hill District.
The village was so beautiful with green trees and you would love surely. People used to work on field cultivating crops to feed their families. The village was known as "Riangtwisa Village". During the summer, the heat of sun used to make people tired, people used to take refuge under these big mango trees to take rest. They used to take break while working on field. How amazing and comfortable these tree-shades were!
The construction of the Kaptai Dam started a few years ago and the surprising thing was that all the cultivable lands in our village and surrounding village would be submerged. The thing i could understand from this construction that we had to leave this land and go far away to survive.
We were afraid of this construction of Kaptai Dam. Where would we go ! How would we survive! All these things were spinning around our head.
The name of Kaptai originated from "Kap Te Twima"
I asked my husband about this and he replied "Government is creating a dam at the mouth of the Karnafuli river for hydropower project which is far away from the town of Rangamati"
"The gate was left to install on this dam. When the gate was closed, the massive stream of the Karnafuli would not be able to flow. As a result, the water level in all the rivers surrounded by the hills would rise. The low agricultural lands we depend on for our livelihoods would be submerged due to the rising water level.”
We all felt sacred to hear this information and our lives were threatened by this dam. We all understood that we have to leave this place and search for new place to live.
Some of them were thinking to shift in neighbouring country and some of them were preparing to shift in Khagrachari Hill District.
Everyone was hopeless and heartbroken to thinking of leaving their beloved living place. But they couldn't do nothing.
People were busy and there were so much work left. People were arranging new places to take shelter, creating /arranging boats in order to survive of a sudden flood, arranging places for cattle ,crops and many more. The work load was so heavy people were busy with that.
Our father-in-law's house was also moved from plain to hill areas so that we would not stink into water.
I do not remember much about date or time exactly but that moment arrived. It was a rainy day when it rained all day and night. The water started to rise slowly due to rain and gradually everything gone under the water.
There was no time to say goodbye to people. People were busy with leaving this place by boat. Our boats were arranged before and we reached out to our neighbouring country , India.
My all family member scattered everywhere. I lost contact with my father,mother and siblings. After many years I came to know through a relatives that my family had set off to Khagrachari , A neighbouring district of Rangamati. And they converted into "Chakma". Many of my relatives ended up staying in Logang which is under Panchari Upazila, Khagrachari. Most of them ended up being converted into "Chakma".
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