The overhead water tanks installed in Sylhet city, to uplift drinking water for ensuring smooth supply to the city dwellers, have been lying unused for more than 13 years since their construction.
The Sylhet City Corporation completed construction of three new high-rise water tanks at Subidbazar, Shahi Eidgah and Baluchar and refurbishment of an old one at Chowhatta at a cost of Tk 4 crore in 2000.
‘But, the water tanks have been lying unused since their opening because of insufficient water supply against the demand of city dwellers,’ an employee of the SCC water section said.
The SCC sources said the authorities are supplying only 2.5 crore litres of water among the consumers against an estimated demand of 7 crore litres per day in the city. Adequate amount of water cannot be uplift to fill the four water towers and thus distribute through them in the localities.
The residents, who collect water from tube-wells installed at their homes, also have to depend on the pipeline water as the pipe of normal tube-well cannot siphon water from the ever-falling level of groundwater in some seasons.
The SCC authorities said they could not supply sufficient water to the city dwellers despite operating 14 deep tube-wells round the clock.
So, water cannot be kept reserved in the water towers which have total capacity of storing about 20,00,000 litres water,’ he said.
Talking to New Age, SCC’s water section executive engineer Syed Hossain Jamal said claimed that 90 per cent demand for drinking water would be met after installing two surface-water treatment plants in the city this year.
The SCC is working to set up the plants at Kushi Ghat and Dakkhin Surma to resolve water crisis in the city at a cost of Tk 105 crore, Hossain Jamal said.
‘Keeping the tanks filled up with water would also be possible then,’ he added.
-With New Age input
