CWasa wants to hike water price by 60pc

The Chattogram Water and Sewerage Authority (CWasa) wants to increase water tariff by around 60 percent citing need for adjustment between production cost and existing water price.

It came up with the proposal at a time when the port city residents are experiencing severe disruption to water supply.

It is noteworthy that prices of all essential commodities have been galloping in recent times.

The CWasa wants to raise the price of per unit (1000 litres) water from Tk 18 to Tk 29 for residential connections and from Tk 37 to Tk 59.70 for non-residential connection.

A five-member committee has been formed by CWasa board to verify the proposal submitted by its commercial department on March 14.

"Currently we are subsidising Tk 11 per unit for residential connection. However, we need to remain afloat, so we proposed to increase the water tariff," said Kazi Shohidul Islam, commercial manager of CWasa.

Mentionable, CWasa usually increases water tariff in January every year by five percent automatically.

The state agency supplies around 50 crore litres of water daily to over 82,642 residential connections and 6,129 commercial connections in Chattogram city.

In recent times, CWasa has been supplying water to the southern part of the port city under a rationing system due to decrease in production following an intrusion of salt water in Halda river.

"We are suffering a lot without getting water regularly. We are getting water on only two or three days a week," said Tofazzal Hossain, a resident of Akmal Ali Road in CEPZ area.

Some CWasa board members, however, are against raising water prices.

"This not the right time [to increase water prices] as people are already struggling due to hike in price of essential commodities," said Jafor Sadek, a board member.

Sadek also said they urged CWasa to adjust the subsidy by reducing system losses.

"CWasa has no actual data in assessing production cost of water. Their need to adjust production cost with existing prices is baseless," claimed SM Nazar Hossain, vice president of Consumer Association of Bangladesh.

"We have advised CWasa to stop their system loss and ghostly bills to tackle the losses. However, they have always been trying to tackle losses by increasing water tariff, thereby adding burden to the city dwellers," he added.