Water crisis tormenting city dwellers

The summer heat is excruciating enough without having to suffer through an acute water crisis. It is horrifying that, in this intolerable weather, many Dhaka dwellers are being forced to make do without even a single drop of any water for days on end. In Bepari Goli of the capital's Moghbazar area, for instance, residents have no choice but to buy water in order to survive, or go to relative's houses to take showers, as there has been no water supply in the area for the last one month. It seems that the pleas for respite of the frustrated city dwellers are falling on deaf ears of the authorities. 

This is the unfortunate situation in many parts of the city, particularly in Rampura, Moghbazar and Jatrabari. The authorities state that a major reason for this shortage is the excessive heat. But given that this is the condition every year in the summer months, we ask, can Wasa not plan ahead to ensure adequate water supply during these months when people's suffering exacerbate due to the heat? Every year, we confront the same problem and in response, encounter the same set of rhetoric and excuses from our respected authorities. 

It is high time that WASA undertakes and implements a medium to long term plan to resolve the rising water crisis in a sustainable manner, and utilise rain and floodwater to ease the pressure on groundwater, and do so without any bureaucratic delays. And in the meantime, we urge Wasa to increase the immediately capacity to deliver water to the water-starved segments of the capital city.