HC seeks WASA's explanation over contaminated water

The High Court (HC) directed on Sunday Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to submit a report within the next two weeks explaining the steps taken after the tracing of chlorine, ammonia, arsenic and human feces in its water, reports BSS.

An HC division bench comprising Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam passed the order as deputy attorney general Motahar Hossain Sazu submitted a report that said contamination was found in water samples taken from eight different supply points of Dhaka WASA.

"The presence of harmful bacteria, high level of ammonia and even the traces of human feces were found in the water samples. The court has asked Dhaka WASA to give its explanation in writing as to what steps it has taken after the latest findings," Advocate Md Tanvir Ahmed told newsmen.

Following an order of the High Court, the ministry of local government and rural development took samples of water from 34 areas in 10 zones and tested those at the laboratories of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka University and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b).