Reza Mahmud :
Several thousand families in the capital’s Donia-Paterbagh areas have been in acute crisis of water for last six days.
“We are in unbearable sufferings as the WASA have not been supplying water for last six days in our Donia-Paterbagh areas. The very little amount of water we are getting in this period from the WASA is not drinkable nor usable because of stinks,” Shahidullah Patwary, a local resident told The New Nation on Wednesday.
Shahidullah Patwary and Habibur Rahman, President of Paterbagh Central Masjid committee, with other residents of the areas alleged that Dhaka Water Supply And Sewerage Authority (WASA) are repeatedly neglecting the people of the area with very poor supply of water.
He said several thousand families in Donia-Paterbagh, Gas Road, Nurpur, the south of Shanir Akhra in the capital are in sufferings for severe shortage of water.
“People could not drink water due to stinky water supplied by WASA. Homemakers failed to cook food in time. Taking bath and washing clothes and dishes are almost impossible,” Shahidullah and others of the area said.
He said that the employees of nearby Paterbagh WASA pump station told them that one out of two of their pumping machine has got dysfunctional which caused the crisis.
“But, how many days we will suffer? Is not there any remedy? Why does not it repair the pumping machine quickly? It is not acceptable to the people of these vast areas who are on acute sufferings for days after days,” Shahidullah Patwary said.
They said if they get normal water for days or months, they must get odorous water or short of water supply suddenly and for long.
Different media including The New Nation also published reports about this problem of the areas several times.
When contacted Engineer Taqsem A Khan, Managing Director of Dhaka WASA told The New Nation on Wednesday that he would direct the officials so that the problem could be addressed soon. He also suggested the residents of the area to contact with WASA head office for sending emergency water supply through its special vehicles.
“I will support them with emergency water supply immediately and will interfere so that the dysfunctional machine could be repaired as soon as possible,” the WASA MD said.
