Call to ensure supply of safe water in remote areas

Immediate and effective measures are required to ensure supply of safe drinking water in remote areas of the country where water is barely consumable, speakers at a seminar said on Thursday.
It is especially the coastal regions that are frequented by natural disasters where shortage of safe drinking water is felt most, they said.
The seminar on 'Strengthening capacity for water quality analysis and monitoring system in Bangladesh' was held at the Department of Public Health and Engineering (DPHE) auditorium. DPHE and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) jointly organised the seminar.
At the seminar, a plan was unveiled where JICA would help the DPHE to improve its capacity for water quality analysis and monitoring facilities.
The main objective of the project is to improve the 12 DPHE laboratories throughout the country and help them enhance their capability to conduct quality analysis on drinking water, said Nabuko Suzuki Kayashima, chief representative of JICA Bangladesh office.
Japanese Ambassador Masayuki Inoue attached great importance to the availability of clean water, adding that the government of Japan has keen interest to provide grant in safe drinking water.
Shaikh Khurshid Alam, secretary of Local Government Division, said the people who are responsible to analyse and monitor drinking water must be competent to do their job as lives of millions depend upon them.
DPHE Chief Engineer Mustafizur Rahman chaired the event. LGD Joint Secretary Shahjahan Ali Mollah and DPHE Superintendent Engineer Dewan Naquib Ahsan also spoke.