Halishahar residents lay siege to CWASA MD for water

CHITTAGONG, May 26: Residents of Halishahar area in the port city staged a demonstration today in front of Chittagong WASA (Water Supply and Sewerage Authority) Bhaban and Chittagong Press Club and laid siege to the senior officials and managing director (MD) of CWASA for an hour demanding water supply to their households.
The demonstration took place from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon when the women dashed their empty jars of mud violently on the ground in front of the WASA office to protest the authority's continuous silence regarding lack of drinking water in the area for the last several months.
They also informed that a good number of flats in the Halishahar Residential Area have fallen vacant over the last few weeks due to non-availability of water from the CWASA.
Following the demonstration the CWASA MD formed a 14-member committee comprising officials and representatives of the locality to find out ways and means to restore water supply within a week.
Several hundred men and women gathered in front of Chittagong Press Club at around 9:00 in the morning, formed human chain and chanted slogans with posters and banners written "We want water" for an hour.
Representatives of New A Block Mahalla Committee, Diganta Club, I Block Mahalla Committee, Muktangan Club, H Block and J Block of Halishahar Residential Area participated in the demonstration.
Local ward councillor of Chittagong City Corporation Morshed Akhtar Chowdhury was also present in the programmes.
During the demonstration at WASA Bhaban they handed over a memorandum to WASA MD Engr AKM Fazlullah where they alleged that a section of CWASA officials have been diverting water from WASA supply lines to other areas from Halishahar Residential Area causing a lot of sufferings to them for weeks.
Engr Fazlullah apologised for his inability to supply water to many areas including Halishahar, Natun Bazar and Eidgah and assured them of water supply to those areas within a week.
He informed the demonstrators that CWASA has been suffering an acute shortage of water as the authority could not take any new project for the last 27 years. The under-construction Karnaphuli Water Supply Project is likely to be completed by June 2015, he said.
"What can we do? The government has ordered that new water supply connections could not be stopped. When we go for deep tube well projects, we face obstruction from the Department of Environment (DoE). Now you can approach the DoE," he told the demonstrators.
He, however, constituted a 14-member committee with nine from the locals and five from the CWASA with CWASA chief engineer as its head.
The committee will sit together and find out ways to mitigate the sufferings of the residents of Halishahar A Block, I Block, H Block, J Block, Eidgah, Natun Bazar and other adjoining areas in the city's south-western part.