Staff Reporter :
Many areas of Dhaka city are facing an acute shortage of water amid heatwave and intermittent power cuts.
Localities such as Pallabi, Khilgaon, Maniknagar, Mugda, Sutrapur, Gandaria, Moghbazar, Badda, Banasree, Basabo, Doyaganj, Kajlarpar, Adabar, Shyamoli, Jurain, Matuail, and Konapara are now in grip of water crisis and residents alleging irregular supply of drinking water.
“Irregular water supply is a common problem of our locality. Every year we experience water scarcity in our area,” a resident of the Khilgaon area told The New Nation.
Monir Hossain, a house owner at Gandaria, said, “Water supply has dropped drastically in our area for the last one month and it took four hours to fill water tanks in houses. It usually takes one hour to fill water tanks if supply situation remains normal.”
He also said that even after complaining several times to the regional WASA office, no action has been taken.
Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) officials said the water supply in Dhaka has been affected amid the ongoing heatwave and load-shedding.
Dhaka city needs 255-260 crore litres of water a day on an average. But the heatwave has pushed up the demand for water, causing the crisis.
They also said that rising temperatures may further exacerbate the water crisis in the capital.
But experts opined that falling water ground water level, mismanagement, unchecked urbanisation, population growth and climate change contributed to water crisis in Dhaka city.
Dhaka city, having a population of about 18 million, depends heavily on groundwater as a source of quality water. However, the city is encountering a rapid depletion of groundwater.
The groundwater levels were found to be decreasing all over the city, varying from 0.6-2.4 m/year, according to a study.
The locations vulnerable to severe groundwater depletion were identified to be the Khilgaon, Sobujbagh, Motijheel, Dhanmondi, and Sutrapur areas and some parts of the Cantonment and Mirpur areas.
In a bid to overcome the water crisis in Dhaka, experts suggested for adopting more surface water treatment plants, rainwater harvesting, implementing a block tariff system, reducing non-revenue water, metering water consumption, and promoting public awareness.
