City water crisis eases a little

Residents of several city neighbourhoods kept complaining about dirty water in the supply of Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) while some parts of the capital have seen a little improvement in the water supply situation.
People of some parts of Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Rampura, Bashabo and Moghbazar and some areas in the old part of the city continue to suffer from severe water crisis for the past couple of days.
The residents of Mohakhali and Mohammadpur, however, said yesterday that they are getting water supply during the daytime.
The Wasa authorities have blamed the frequent load-sheddings for the crisis, and said that the situation will get better within a few days after 23 deep tubewells, now being set up, start operation.
“The water crisis has made our lives miserable. We have been getting water for only three to four hours a day for the last ten days and we have been managing all our household work with this little water,” Syed Ahmed, a resident of Pirerbagh in Mirpur, told The Daily Star on Monday.
“We even wait until midnight to collect water as we do not get any supply during the day,” Ahmed went on narrating their woes. “And often, the water we get is not enough to meet our demand,” he added.
With pitchers, buckets and bottles, the frustrated people of Pirerbagh gathered at Jhilpar the same day and demanded ensuring water supply in the areas.
Shahriar Morshed, a resident of Babar Road in Mohammadpur, told The Daily Star that they had faced acute water crisis for four days this week. “The water we are getting from Wasa supply is too little to fulfil our needs,” he said.
Morshed also alleged that the under-construction buildings in the area are using up too much water, creating the acute crisis.
The mobile water distribution container of Wasa is hardly enough to meet the demand of drinking water in the area, he said adding that a huge queue forms in front of the water container every day.
The situation is almost similar in the nearby areas, he said.
Locals of Ulan in Rampura said they had been suffering from water crisis for the last ten days.
“We get a little water after 2 in the morning. It would be tough to live if the situation goes on like this,” Rajib Ahmed, a resident of the area, said.
The Wasa keep their generators on only for a few hours during the load-shedding period, he alleged.
Talking to The Daily Star, the residents of Moghbazar, Mouchak, Mugda and old part of the city complained of dirty water with stink in their areas for the past couple of months.
“If you take a look at the water, you won't believe it is drinking water,” Salauddin, a resident of Peyarabagh in Moghbazar, said. “The colour [of the water] is bluish. It looks as if it was the water of a contaminated pond,” he added.
In front of Moghbazar water pump, people were seen waiting for water in a queue at noon.
“I am forced to come here for water almost daily as the Wasa water is so dirty,” Mamtaz Begum, a resident of Madhubagh, told The Daily Star. She said that she works as a domestic help at a house and had to take some time off from her work every day to just collect some water.
“I had to wait for hours in queue here,” said an angry Mamtaz, adding “None pay any attention though we have been getting stinking water for the last three months.”
Many of the locals have been suffering from scabies by drinking the dirty water, she said.
Talking to The Daily Star, the pump operator said that scuffles among the people who come for water have become a regular phenomenon.
He blamed power outages that occur several times a day for the long wait, as the pump does not have any generator.
“I have to provide water from early in the morning till late at night,” he added.
The Wasa authorities said that they have been providing 172 crore litres of water daily in the city from 482 deep tubewells and four water treatment plants against the demand of 210 crore litres.
Blaming primarily the power outages for the crisis, Raihanul Abedin, managing director of Dhaka Wasa, expressed hope that the situation would improve within the next few days.
"Our capacity is generally 190 crore litres every day. But due to electricity shortage, we cannot lift 20 crore litres," he said.
About the stinking water, he said people from some areas are getting water with smell as the Wasa has been using extra chemicals to treat the water. However, the water is totally germ-free and safe and there may be some problems in the people's reservoirs, he added.
The Wasa authorities said the installation work of 23 deep tubewells is going on that will produce additional 7.5 crore litres water every day.