City faces acute water shortage

Denizens of the capital Dhaka face an acute shortage of water. In some areas there has been no water supply for seven days at a stretch, some places it has been for 10 days. This is Ramadan, the month of fasting. Temperatures are soaring and the mosquito-borne disease Chikunguna has spread. The people are suffering. In this situation when there is a lack of water, things couldn’t get worse.

The social media is rife with complaints and castigations about this water shortage. Many residents of the city are calling up the media establishments to let them know their sufferings.

The residents of Mirhazaribagh took out a procession with their pots and buckets in protest. Unless this water crisis is addressed immediately, life in the capital city will come to a standstill.

Uttara, Mohammedpur, Shyamoli, Nakhalpara, Agamasi Lane, Gandaria, Narinda, Kamalapur, Jurain, Shonir Akhra, Madartek, Nandipara, Lalbagh, Azimpur, Jigatola, Dakkhinkhan, Bonosree, Madhya Badda, Madhubagh, Shantibagh - there is seemingly no end to the list of areas facing this water crisis. The more pertinent question would be, which areas have water supply?

The WASA authorities are not paying due attention to the sufferings of the huge number of people facing this acute water shortage. The media is coming out with reports regularly, but the problem remains unresolved.

In order to resolve the water crisis, the root cause of the problem must be addressed. WASA’s managing director Taskim A Khan told Prothom Alo, load-shedding of electricity is one of the reasons behind the shortage of water. Another reason is that it is the dry season and groundwater level has fallen. Needless to say, these problems are not new. WASA is well aware that groundwater level falls every dry season and power cuts are more frequent. Does WASA have no initiative to tackle the situation?

WASA’s managing director has said, there will be no water problem after 2021. Such reassurances are meaningless at such a time of dire crisis. People’s lives have come to a halt is most areas of the city. This must be resolved. The people must be given minimum utility services for survival. WASA must do all that is possible with existing infrastructure to provide people with its services.