Thousands suffer from acute drinking water crisis in Patiya

Around 40,000 residents of four villages in Patiya upazila of Chittagong are suffering from severe drinking water shortage as some factories continue to extract groundwater from the area disregarding a high court ban, locals alleged at a public hearing.

The hearing was organised by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) along with Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) on Thursday.

In the hearing, Mujibur Rahman, a Hulain village resident, read out a written article. He said residents of Hulain, Habilaisdwip, Charkanai and Panchuria are suffering from serious drinking water crisis as most of the 300 tube-wells cannot extract water.

Unplanned industrialisation resulted in mushrooming of industries including Mostafa Paper Products, Ambia Paper Mills, Ambia Dyeing and Knitting Mills, Hakkani Paper and Pulps Mills, Anwara Paper Mills, Banaful and Co (food products), Banaful Minarel Water, Shah Amanat Dyeing and Knitting in the last 24 years, he said.

They are using large diameter pipes to extract groundwater, resulting in groundwater-level depletion, alleged Mujibur.

Bela filed a writ petition with the High Court in 2015. The court on January 29, 2015 ordered the eight industries to stop extracting ground water and dumping industrial wastes.

Locals alleged only Banaful Mineral Water factory has stopped extracting water, while the others are continuing extracting groundwater and dumping wastes.

On November 26, 2016 the court also ordered the Department of Public Health and Engineering (DPHE) to file a report on the current condition. But DPHE has not submitted any report yet, said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bela.

“We applied to the court to declare the area as a water-stressed one because once declared, the demand of water will be determined through priority…drinking water and household water would get the first precedence,” she said.

“The hearing is not for adjudication but for recording the grievance of people. We invited representatives of the industries, but only one came,” she added.

AHM Mostafa Kamal, deputy general manager of Banaful and Company, termed the crisis a natural phenomenon.

Locals protested his statement instantly.

Chief guest Syeda Sarwar Jahan, additional divisional commissioner of Chittagong, termed it a “manmade” crisis.

Shamshul Huda, executive director of ALRD, presided over the programme, moderated by Syeda Rizwana Hasan in Chittagong District Council Auditorium from 11:00am to 2:30pm.