City Reporter: CAB-Chittagong has expressed its anger because of the lack of effective initiatives in Chittagong metropolis and to eliminate salinity. Due to the decrease in production in Chittagong Wasa, there has been an acute water crisis. Almost half of the city’s water supplied by Chittagong WASA is found to have excess salt.
Wasa claims that the water level in Kaptai lake has gone down a lot. Due to this, the water in the lake is not being released. Due to this, the salinity of Haldar water has increased. Due to the accumulation of algae in the Karnaphuli river, depletion of water in the Kaptai lake, intrusion of sea water in the Karnaphuli and Halda rivers, the production of WASA water has decreased. This crisis will not be solved until it rains.
Apart from this, the production of Chittagong water from Sheikh Russell and Mohra water treatment plants has abnormally decreased due to the increase in salinity in Haldar water. In such a situation, on one hand there is a cry for water, on the other hand, people are not getting clean water.
People have to pay extra money to buy water from private water producers for drinking water. The level of suffering of people is increasing day by day due to non-availability of water for daily work including household work. Therefore, the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), Chittagong Division and City Committee, an organization protecting the interests of the consumers of the country, has urgently demanded to ensure the availability of fresh water in Chittagong city.
The leaders made the above demands in a statement expressing their anger due to the serious disruption of public life due to the severe shortage of fresh water in the metropolis of Chittagong.
A statement sent to the media yesterday (May 07) was signed by Vice President of CAB Central Committee SM Najer Hossain, CAB Chittagong Divisional General Secretary Kazi Iqbal Bahar Chhaberi, Vice President Journalist M Nasirul Haque, CAB Metropolitan President Jasmine Sultana Paru, General Secretary Ajay Mitra. Shanku, CAB Chittagong South District President Alhaj Abdul Mannan and others.
The leaders expressed their anger and said that WASA has been hiding the issue of salinity since the beginning. The issue of salt in Wasar water of Chittagong during the dry season was raised a year or two ago. But Chittagong WASA was not alerted, the people are now paying the price. Chittagong Wasa says that one-third of the city’s people are suffering due to salinity and water crisis, but in reality, more than half of the city’s residents are suffering due to this crisis.
The leaders also said that the residents of the city have been suffering from the salty water of Wasa for several weeks. Even if the water is purified, the salt does not go away. In many places, the city dwellers are getting foul-smelling, dirty and black water from the drains. Some are fetching water from distant ponds and deep tube wells. Some are buying water and cooking and eating. Unable to do other things including bathing. Due to the fact that most of WASA’s lines are old, the customers are already in crisis. Water is wasted due to leakage or holes in the line. Now the crisis is more pronounced. Wasa stopped there with a notification in the newspaper. No effective action was taken. Moreover, they are busy with new projects and new plans to increase the price of water. The role of WASA’s board of directors, and the oversight ministry on behalf of the government, is also mysterious. It is disappointing that nobody’s action is visible in the crisis.
The leaders said that such a fragile water supply system has been created, where the city dwellers are at extreme health risk. People are suffering immensely with water supply in WASA. Additional money has to be spent to collect safe water. Water supply has decreased in various areas. What is coming, that too cannot be taken in the mouth because of the salt. By drinking this water, many people have become sick and suffered from diarrhea. Every year the price of water increases without turning around, thousands of crores of rupees are spent on development projects, but the city dwellers have to wait for the rains to supply safe water. What could be more tragic than this? If the authorities had taken measures to clean up the salinity in advance, this kind of incident would have been avoided.
