'Govt to ensure safe water, sanitation'

State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanok yesterday said the government is pledged-bound to ensure safe water and sanitation facilities in the country.
Speaking as chief guest at a launching workshop of Bangladesh Wash Alliance (BWA) at the city's Cirdap auditorium, he said the government has taken necessary steps to provide safe water and sanitation facilities for the people to remove diseases with the assistance of local and international development organisations.
Bangladesh Wash Alliance, an associate body of Dutch Wash Alliance of the Netherlands, is working with nine other non-government organisations for improving water, sanitation and hygiene in six coastal districts of the country.
The rural people are also vocal about getting of safe water and developed sanitation facilities, as they are now very careful about health and environment, Nanok added.
Taksim A Khan, managing director of Dhaka Wasa, said the Wasa authorities will provide safe water to the city's dwellers as part of ensuring their health facilities.
Dr Khairul Islam, country representative of WaterAid chaired the programme while Carel Richter, deputy head of the Netherlands embassy in Dhaka, Mohamamd Nuruzzaman, chief engineer of Department of Public Health Engineering, Zuena Aziz, joint secretary of LGD also spoke.