Chittagong residents are experiencing severe water crisis because the water authority is unable to provide the required supply caused by power outages.
Currently, the Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority can produce only 20 crore litres of water against the daily demand of 50 crore litres.
The chronic power outages are further compounding the already acute shortage, forcing the WASA to produce 50 lakh litres less water than its current capacity of 20 crore litres.
"The water crisis is turning severe by the day. Our capacity is much less than demand. We are trying our best to ease the crisis," said Md Saifullah, chief engineer of WASA.
Many subscribers cannot get water even in a week. The situation is worse for those who do not have water connections and are forced to depend on other sources. Some 38 lakh customers are being served by WASA through 46,000 connections.
Chittagong residents who do not have connections apply for buying water through voucher.
WASA receive hundreds of applications everyday but only 15 applicants get water supply through mobile water tanks.
The city wards that are not provided with WASA connection have a heavy density of population. They include a major portion of south Bakalia and Mohra, from Saltgola crossing through Patenga, Agrabad, Pathantuli, mid-Halishahar and north Halishahar.
Ejaj Rosul, director of water supply development project, Chittagong WASA, told bdnews24.com that the demand for water keeps increasing during the current season.
"It will take us 2012 to meet the deficit of 30 crores litres of water. We need another three years to implement the projects taken so far to produce water."
He admitted the failure to supply water in many areas even in a week.
"We provide water only twice a week to many areas. We even fail to do so because of power outage."
Chief engineer Saifullah mentioned a number of ongoing projects including 13.60 crore litre Karnaphuli Water Supply project funded by Japan International Cooperative Agency, 10 crore litre water refining centre at Boalkhali funded by Korea-based Economic Development Cooperation Fund, 9 crore litre Mohra water refining project funded by the government and 4 crore litre Modunaghat water refining project funded by the World Bank.
"Once the projects are implemented the water crisis will be substantially met", Saifullah said.
WASA chairman AKM Fazlullah said water production did not increase in comparison with the rise of population and industries.
"The new projects will help solve water crisis of 70 percent city dwellers," he said.
Source: bdnews24.com
