A new joint study has found bacteria and other contaminations in water supplied by the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority at several source points. The study was carried out by ICDDR,B, Bureau of Research, Testing and Consultation of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Dhaka University’s Microbiology Department in compliance with a High Court directive issued on May 20.
Unacceptable levels of foul smell and bad taste due to ammonia, chlorine and chloramines contaminations were also found in water supplied by the DWASA at Saidabad and Chandnighat, said the report. The study group recommended immediate steps be taken by appropriate authorities to prevent bacterial contamination in water.
Adulteration and contamination abound in the capital. The BSTI released their report on May 2 which found 52 food items to be substandard and/or adulterated, out of 406 food items in 27 categories that it tested. These items included everything from cooking oil to turmeric powder.
Surveys taken earlier have found that 50 percent of food items and beverages sold on city streets are found contaminated with various groups of bacteria called coliform. More than 50 percent street foods and beverages are contaminated by coliform while more than one- third street foods is unhygienic due to the presence of faecal pathogens (E.coli). In the meantime raids are being conducted against renowned restaurants and sweetmeat shops which have found dirty, rotten, unhygienic and other types of foodstuffs in their premises.
Even the sacrificial cows for Qurbani are not immune to being tampered with as a certain section of farmers are lured to make quick profits by giving them hormonal and steroid injections which fatten them up but increase the risk of their death and disability and also affect the people who eat their meat and other organs.
While we have become accustomed to private firms which provide contaminated food we expect that public organisations like the DWASA which supply water to the capital will provide us with a higher standard of service and try to provide us with clean non contaminated water. Surely this can’t be too much to ask. It’s very easy for the DWASA to figure out why the water supply is contaminated and take steps to remove this.
