Bangladesh — one of the most densely populated countries of the world — has water resources, but these resources are being polluted continuously. Much of groundwater sources are contaminated with different contaminants like high levels of poisonous arsenic, owing to man-made and natural causes.
The Economist, a leading internationally newspaper, in its 8th May edition published a news item titled ‘Water in Bangladesh is either unsafe or pricey’ saying the country, which sits within the world’s largest delta, has no shortage of water. Alas, barely any of it is drinkable. As cyclones and tidal surges from the Bay of Bengal intensify, seawater fills the delta. Salt-ridden soil also makes growing rice impossible, forcing people to abandon low-lying regions — home to a quarter of the country’s 170m people — in favour of more fertile areas or cities.
Some four million of capital Dhaka City’s 18 million residents, mostly in the slum districts, do not have piped connections to their homes. Most still pay a premium to the city’s mafia for illegal tapped water, which is often contaminated in the process. Half of all water-treatment projects also fail because, whenever set up by the government or NGOs, the running and maintenance are then left to fall on the community. Then the costs go too high as most of the elected representatives, who are supposed to oversee the operation, live in Dhaka and rarely visit their rural constituencies.
Experts observed that as most of the population use these water sources, especially groundwater sources, which contain an elevated amount of arsenic throughout the country, severe health risk due to water borne diseases is widespread. Untreated industrial effluents, improper disposal of domestic waste, agricultural runoffs are also the main contributors to water pollution which hypertension, raising the risk of strokes, heart attacks and miscarriages.
Arsenic toxicity affects millions of people in Bangladesh, but surprisingly, still it remains a neglected public health concern. Immediate public action from stakeholders including the government, NGOs and donors is required to reduce the burden of chronic diseases caused by the arsenic exposure in the country. Silent but sure killer, arsenic was first detected in the country’s groundwater in the mid nineties. Since then its pervasive presence did strike alarm from all conscious quarters and calling for urgent government actions.
