Water supply for the future

THERE are too many places in the country where the heavy withdrawal of underground waters have disturbed the soil layers. The lands are facing subsidence conditions in many places and even mild earthquakes could cause any great havoc on such lands. Even in the capital city and other cities of the country that depend disproportionately on the lifting of underground water for household and other uses, land subsidence is noted to be a serious consequence of the practice. The cities have turned specially vulnerable to earthquakes from this land subsidence factor. Thus, from the protection of human health to preventing the disfigurement of land and its calamitious effects, all of these developments point to the urgency of using surface waters to a far greater degree than is the case now.
Plans will have to be implemented on a high priority basis to that end. All future water supply plans for the cities should aim to filter and supply river waters. But the rivers should be also kept free from pollution for the purpose. Conservation of flood water and rain waters must be targeted on a large scale for irrigation activities. Even it is relevant for Bangladesh to start thinking of desalinization plants to remove salt from sea water for various uses as is being done in some countries. Projects of this type may be reserved for the near future. But planning and fund mobilisation for them should start early in right earnest for their timely implementation.
Mashiur Rahman
Wari, Dhaka