Dhaka WASA arrear bills cross Tk 200cr

Disconnection drives hindered
The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority has failed to realize outstanding bills amounting to more than Tk 200 crore as most of the defaulters are influential people or backed by influential politicians, sources said.
The commercial manager of Dhaka WASA, Uttam Kumar Roy, said of the long accumulated outstanding bills, some government organizations owe more than Tk 50 crore while the rest of nearly Tk 150 crore remains unpaid by private industries and households.
The major defaulter among the government organizations is Dhaka City Corporation, the official said.
When asked, DCC mayor Sadek Hossain Khoka refuted the allegation and alleged that WASA also owed the DCC a large amount. The dispute, he said, would be settled as early as possible in the coming fiscal year.
Other major defaulters in WASA’s defaulters list include commercial and industrial establishments situated at Tejgaon, Shyampur, Motijheel and Dilkusha.
A number of textile mills, dyeing and printing plants, and engineering firms are on the list, said an official of the utility agency.
‘We are requesting and sending letters to the defaulter government agencies asking them to pay their dues,’ Kazi Wasiuddin, a magistrate attached to Dhaka WASA, said.
He also admitted facing problems in conducting disconnection drives and realizing outstanding bills, alluding to pressures from political quarters.
The magistrate said a five-member WASA team conducted disconnection drives at New Market, Dhanmondi and Mohammadpur areas on Wednesday.
He said that most of the WASA bill defaulters usually complained that they did not receive bills regularly or the bills were inflated.
The Dhaka WASA’s mobile team last month had disconnected the water supply lines to Hotel Bonbhojon at Topkhana Road for Tk 34.12 lakh unpaid bills. Some of the hotel employees vented their anger alleging that WASA was responsible for the huge arrears.
Apart from nearly 275,000 customers of Dhaka WASA, there are about 50,000 illegal users of supply water who obstruct disconnection drives in various ways, the magistrate said.
Asked about collection of arrear bills from the customers in the city, Kazi Wasiuddin said on an average Dhaka WASA collects Tk 40 crore every year.

Courtesy of NewAge