Desk Report: Severe water crisis in some parts of Old Dhaka is causing acute suffering to the residents, reports New Age.
The residents of different areas, including Gendaria, Sutrapur, Gualghat, Narinda,
Lakshmibazar, Rhrishikesh Das Road, Kaltabazar, Islampur, Loharpul, Faridabad, Mugda and Jatrabari are passing days in acute scarcity of water.
They have alleged that the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority failed to supply enough water to the areas to meet their daily necessities.
Anwar Hossain, a resident of Narinda area said, ‘We are not getting enough water for the last one month. We get water only two times a day; but the quantity is not enough according to our daily necessity.’
Wahid Begum, a resident of Kazi Abdur Rauf Road in Koltabazar area, has said that she cannot do her household chores due to the ongoing water scarcity. ‘We cannot even take shower regularly in these hot summer days. Now we are meeting our water necessities from our relatives’ houses,’ she said.
Sanjida Tabassum Shailly, another dweller of the area, has said that they get some water at midnight; but the quantity is insufficient.
‘Besides, often the water is dirty and contains bad odour,’ she added.
Dhaka South City’s ward-41 councilor Sarwar Hossain Alo has told New Age that the water supply authorities took no step though he had submitted several complaints to them in the last one month.
Meanwhile, dwellers of DSCC ward-46 have alleged that they are living in the worst condition.
Jannatul Ferdaus, a student of Jagannath University and a former resident of Rhrishikesh Das Lane, has said that she left the area because of the acute water crisis.
‘I have never experienced such kind of problem in my life. I could not take shower and do my household works day after day as there was not even a single drop of water in the line,’ she said.
When asked, DSCC ward-46 councilor Md Shahid Ullah said that the authorities concerned assured them that they would resolve the crisis after getting a written complaint.
WASA officials have said that they are now capable of producing 2,450 million litres of water every day against the demand for 2,400 million litres per day.
The WASA runs 712 deep tube-wells and five water treatment plants in the city to supply water in the capital.
Around 87 per cent of the supplied water comes from underground while the rest comes from the treatment plants.
Dhaka WASA director (technical) AKM Shahid Uddin has said that resident of some areas are facing water crisis as the WASA is replacing some deep tube-wells.
‘Besides, there are cracks in the pipelines in some areas as these supply lines are very old. Though the production is more than the demand, the dwellers of some areas are facing water crisis due to some technical problems,’ he added.
However, when asked about their further step in this regard, the WASA official did not make any comment.