THE water being supplied by Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority has become stinky in different parts of the capital, including Jurain, Mir Hazirbagh, Islampur, Lalbagh, Bashabo, Shajahanpur and Malibagh. People cannot drink, cook, take bath, wash cloths or carry out other household activities using the WASA water. The odor water also carries bacteria of water-borne diseases like Diarrhoea. In many city parts, body itching is also common for the people.
The city dwellers alleged that WASA has not yet taken any proper step to get rid of the problem. The quality of the water from WASA’s treatment plants is unlikely to improve before the monsoon, as the water of the rivers Buriganga and Shitalakkhya are highly polluted.
About the reasons of the stink water, citizens said, the water pipes are installed six to seven feet beneath the surface in the old part of the city. Whenever the building owners fail to connect with the pipe, they dig another hole. Such a practice made a huge number of holes in the pipelines, but many of those are not re-filled. Because, whenever they try to fill the holes, the under surface water obstructs it. As a result, the dirty water from sewerage lines and drains mixes with the WASA water through those holes. The WASA said the repair work of those holes in water pipelines is going on fast. It is hoped that the situation might improve after the accomplishment of the construction work of the new computerised system of the pipelines started in 2012.
The WASA should provide pure drinking and also consumable water to the residence until the pipelines are repaired. As the summer is approaching, the water crisis would be increased. WASA should take precautionary measures to tackle the crisis.
