The Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) must collect water samples from its deep tube-wells and users' taps, test those samples regularly in recognised laboratories, and make the test reports public to let people know about the purity of water they consume.
Environmentalists and rights activists placed the demands after forming a human-chain under the banner of POBA or Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Save the Environment Movement) in front of the WASA building at Karwan Bazar in the capital on Thursday.
The POBA alleged that the quality of WASA water has become non-drinkable due to its overall mismanagement and lack of water standard monitoring system.
The claim of the state-run entity of providing safe water by testing samples from its tube-wells is totally illogical, the POBA leaders said.
They also demanded immediate steps for testing samples from the users' taps for ensuring drinkable water.
POBA Chairman Naser Khan, Chief of Environmental Science Department of Stamford University Dr Kamruzzaman, President of Bangladesh Safe Water Movement Anwar Hossain, Convenor of Nagorik Samaj Mohiuddin Ahmed, and Green Umbrella Health Care Managing Director M Sharifuzzaman Khan Sayeed spoke at the human-chain programme, among others.
They said WASA spends a significant amount of money in the name of laboratory testing, and also misappropriates billions of taka by taking projects to supply pure water.
They also demanded improvement of WASA's water quality monitoring system, and publish reports after testing water samples from BUET, ICDDR,B and other recognised laboratories along with the WASA laboratory.
The POBA's move was linked with the findings of a research study by the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) that disclosed that 91 per cent inhabitants drink their water after boiling, and Tk 3.32 billion is spent per year due to use of gas for the purpose.
But Taksim A Khan, the WASA Managing Director, rejected the findings, and claimed that the agency's supply water is 100 per cent drinkable.
Then a group of inhabitants in Jurain area, led by Mizanur Rahman, went to the WASA building to feed the MD juice prepared with the supply water in their area.
Later, the WASA in a statement said its engineers visited Mizanur Rahman's home after the incident, and found the supply water their good. The organisation also termed his claim of supplying unclean water as totally false and baseless.
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