WASA awaits approval of four projects for safe water supply
Jubair Hasan | Saturday, 26 March 2011
Jubair Hasan
The Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has taken up four key projects that will involve an aggregate cost of over Taka 100.00 billion, considering the growing demand for safe water, especially during the summer for over thirteen million people of the capital. The WASA can at best ensure 1800 million litres of water against the demand for 2100 million litres per day, forcing a majority of the city dwellers to pass their days without having their basic need met. A senior WASA official said the four projects have been taken up to use surface water around the city as the level of underground water is going down by three metres every year, causing a grave concern among experts. "The government has to move ahead immediately to implement the key projects including the Pagla-Keraniganj and the Khilkhet water purification plants to help address the long-persisting problem," he said, adding the WASA will be able to supply over 2,000 million litres of water a day through those plants in the coming years. The water problem has turned into a severe crisis in recent days as dozens of WASA deep-wells have gone dry with the fall in water level, causing sufferings to thousands of people in the city's Mirpur, Shewrapara, Pallabi, Jatrabari, Eskaton and old Dhaka areas. The official said they have to rely on the rivers in and around the capital to meet the ever-increasing demand for safe water in the city due to a gradual fall of the underground water level. They will use water from the Padma river for treatment to meet the demand of the city people for safe water under the projects, which will take about 10 years for implementation, he said. But the population of the city, he added, will, by that time, cross 20 million. The official said private investments are needed in implementing the projects as the government cannot provide the full amount of fund required for investment in water supply projects. "We're holding discussions with some development partners about such investment" he added. The proposed purification plant at Pagla-Keraniganj would cost around Tk 39.05 billion (US$ 550 million) with a capacity to supply 450 million litres of water a day while Khilkhet water purification plant would cost Tk 35.50 billion (US$ 500 million) and would be able to distribute 500 million litres of water daily, the WASA official said. "These are the two most important projects for us. We need to build the plants fast before the water crisis further aggravates," another WASA official said, adding that after implementation of the projects, the low-income communities would also be brought under the coverage of safe water. Experts have, time and again, suggested for use of surface water resources around the capital for supply of safe water to the city dwellers by the authorities concerned.
The Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has taken up four key projects that will involve an aggregate cost of over Taka 100.00 billion, considering the growing demand for safe water, especially during the summer for over thirteen million people of the capital. The WASA can at best ensure 1800 million litres of water against the demand for 2100 million litres per day, forcing a majority of the city dwellers to pass their days without having their basic need met. A senior WASA official said the four projects have been taken up to use surface water around the city as the level of underground water is going down by three metres every year, causing a grave concern among experts. "The government has to move ahead immediately to implement the key projects including the Pagla-Keraniganj and the Khilkhet water purification plants to help address the long-persisting problem," he said, adding the WASA will be able to supply over 2,000 million litres of water a day through those plants in the coming years. The water problem has turned into a severe crisis in recent days as dozens of WASA deep-wells have gone dry with the fall in water level, causing sufferings to thousands of people in the city's Mirpur, Shewrapara, Pallabi, Jatrabari, Eskaton and old Dhaka areas. The official said they have to rely on the rivers in and around the capital to meet the ever-increasing demand for safe water in the city due to a gradual fall of the underground water level. They will use water from the Padma river for treatment to meet the demand of the city people for safe water under the projects, which will take about 10 years for implementation, he said. But the population of the city, he added, will, by that time, cross 20 million. The official said private investments are needed in implementing the projects as the government cannot provide the full amount of fund required for investment in water supply projects. "We're holding discussions with some development partners about such investment" he added. The proposed purification plant at Pagla-Keraniganj would cost around Tk 39.05 billion (US$ 550 million) with a capacity to supply 450 million litres of water a day while Khilkhet water purification plant would cost Tk 35.50 billion (US$ 500 million) and would be able to distribute 500 million litres of water daily, the WASA official said. "These are the two most important projects for us. We need to build the plants fast before the water crisis further aggravates," another WASA official said, adding that after implementation of the projects, the low-income communities would also be brought under the coverage of safe water. Experts have, time and again, suggested for use of surface water resources around the capital for supply of safe water to the city dwellers by the authorities concerned.