Reza Mahmud :
City dwellers living in the capital’s South Donia, Paterbagh and adjacent areas have been acutely sufferings for lack of drinking water for one year.
They applied to Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority for remedy (WASA) but no perfect response was there.
“We are in the state of untold sufferings for more than one year due to lack of supply of pure water. Firstly, the WASA officials said that the pipeline was so old and going through deep surface. After a new pipe and a new pump was established, but crisis has not ended. The water remains dirty and odorous which is totally undrinkable,” Shahidullah Patwary, a resident from Paterbagh area who signed one application to WASA on behalf of the areas residences, told The New Nation on Wednesday.
He said, “We submitted a written application two months ago to the WASA. We have also urged verbally WASA authority and local engineers in Jatrabary WASA office. But they paid no heeds,” said Shahidullah Patwary.
Thousands of people from South Donia’s Paterbagh Italy Market to Central Jame Masjid area and Ahle Hadidh Masjid to Moonshine School areas are in crisis of drinking water for last one year.
The water supplying in the vast areas through both of the pipes are not drinkable. Water supply through old pipes is totally dirty and odorous. Besides, the water supplying through the new pumps and new pipeline are also dirty, but comparably less odorous.
Water of the new pipes can be used for household work like washing cloths and dishes. They also use for bathing, but it is not drinkable.
As a result, residents of those areas still cry, the people bring drinking water from different sources including WASA’s ATM booths paying extra money.
Some of them have brought drinking water from nearby Muktadhara residential area’s Masjid.
Ataur Rahman, the caretaker of the Masjid, said they have taken some money to meet the electricity costs.
He said that they are providing water only to curb suffering of the local people.
Kamal Hossain from Paterbagh said, they have taken smart card costing Tk 150 to collect drinking water from WASA’s ATM booth. It cost about Tk 200 every months besides the WASA’s regular line bills.
“We are paying Tk 15 for per kilo liter water to WASA which was Tk 11 earlier. Besides, we are now bound to pay extra money in different places to get clean water. We paid bills like Gulsha-Baridhara areas but getting dirty water, it is pathetic,” said Shahidullah Patwary.
When contacted, Engineer Taqsem A Khan, Managing Director of WASA told The New Nation on Wednesday, “I know that it is a great problem. The WASA’s initiative to establish District Metered Area (DMA) pipes to supply direct drinkable water, yet to reach the Donia area.”
The MD however, ensured that he will send officials to the area to further investigation and to solve the crisis so far it would be possible.
