IN a horrific development, newspapers have reported that some parts of Dhaka city have been facing acute crisis of water for around three months now. While Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) is producing 242 crore liters of water exceeding the city’s estimated daily demand of 230 crore liters, it is not clear why nights are turning into nightmares due to lack of water amidst these hot summer days.
Most crisis ridden areas are the Old Town, Nakhalpara, Mohakhali, Mirpur, Jatrabari and Demra. People are frequently being seen making queues for water in dawn and dusk. Some accounts of the residents reveal that sometimes they don’t get water for even four days or more. Some residents have to spend Tk 200 every day to collect water in water containers from a nearby WASA pump by a rickshaw van. Sometimes, getting water only after every three or four days has become a common feature in these neighbourhoods.
What adds to the suffering is residents in many parts of Dhaka complain about getting polluted water from the WASA supply lines, which has put them in trouble. The problem has hit the areas of Hatirpool, Kathalbagan and Basabo. Stinky water has become a normal part of life to some Dhaka dwellers life now, but, what is new is that big insects are now found with supply water as well.
This is totally unacceptable. From this it appears that WASA service is selective because the problem is acute in areas where people of the low income bracket mostly live. It takes common sense only to understand that ground water level can’t fall down selectively in slum areas only. Furthermore, WASA must answer why there is a shortage even though it claims of producing 242 crore liters of water daily. If the problem is due to the water level dropping in summer, we may learn water management technologies from desert countries.
Moreover, what excuse could WASA put forward for stinky water? Why insects are swarming in supply water? WASA must find smart ways to resolve these problems. If these are not resolved then the main problem will no longer be the shortages of water, or indeed the smelly and insect filled water. It will be that of a major epidemic as water which is not properly treated will be prone to all sorts of bacterial and other microbiotic contamination which will ensure that public health is seriously endangered. This will in turn put a tremendous strain on our already crumbling infrastructure in our public hospitals and further ensure that our public expenditures also increase–all due to the inefficiency of WASA to produce high quality water. To prevent external costs due to poor quality water from skyrocketing and damaging public health action must be taken now–but the will to do it may not exist.
