WB gives $75m for increased safe water supply in rural areas

The World Bank is providing about US $75 million for the Bangladesh Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (BRWSSP).  The World Bank (WB) is giving support to the government to increase the supply of safe water in rural areas. The BRWSSP, supported by the WB, aims to implement rural piped water supply schemes as well as non-piped water supply options in rural areas where shallow aquifers are highly contaminated by arsenic and other pollutants such as salinity, iron, and bacterial pathogens. The project is scheduled to end in 2017, said a press release. The release said that though the national rural water supply coverage in Bangladesh is estimated to be 97 percent, issues with water quality and in particular arsenic contamination have significantly lowered this figure to an estimated 83 percent (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2009 by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF). A recent WB team jointly reviewed the project implementation status and urged the implementing agency – Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) – to speed up the construction of main infrastructures critical to improve safe water supply in Arsenic contaminated areas. After an initial delay, DPHE has now accelerated efforts towards increasing access to safe water supply and hygienic sanitation services in rural areas, according to UNB.