Water, water, nowhere!

As the sweltering heat makes life intolerable for Dhaka dwellers, a severe water crisis has made things go from bad to worse for residents of Dhanmondi, Indira Road, Senpara Parbata and Old Dhaka. In other parts of town, such as Bashabo, Madartek, Mugda, Tantibazar and West Rajabazar, residents have to make do with dirty and smelly water. If the water shortage was a one-off occurrence, the residents might have found a temporary solution, but in many areas, the water supply has been in a state of suspension for two weeks straight. 

Moreover residents are also having to put up with frequent load shedding in this unbearable heat. The power cuts are aggravating the water shortage even further. 

It is frustrating for city dwellers that rather than confront the water shortage that is paralysing large parts of the city head on, the authorities seem to be downplaying its severity by stating that only some "pocket" areas in the city are experiencing the crisis. What is even more aggravating is that, come every summer, residents encounter the same problem of inadequate supply, and receive trite responses from the authorities as to why they could not generate adequate supply. And yet, they do little to decrease their dependence on groundwater for years on end. 

We reiterate that the authorities must take this issue seriously, providing both short-term relief to city-dwellers and undertaking a long-term plan to resolve the water crisis so that next summer this insufferable situation is not repeated. Meanwhile, the authorities should ensure that the power cuts come to an end which, in addition to providing relief to residents in this heat, will also ease the water supply.