Shoumitra Mazumdar . Rajshahi
Residents in the Rajshahi city are suffering acute water crisis as all the four water treatment plants have remained inoperative for the last five days.
Official sources at the Rajshahi City Corporation said water crisis emerged in the city as they cannot operate the water treatment plants due to power outages.
Some city dwellers said they were forced to collect drinking water from tube wells at nearby places as the corporation are failing to provide supply water.
During visit to different city areas, our correspondent found that lots of people on Thursday were standing in queues beside corporation vehicles supplying water.
‘I have been waiting in a queue since morning to get supply water. Four hours have passed but I am yet to get water,’ said one Asma Khatun, a resident of Ward No 21.
Arpon Sarker, a resident of the city’s Talaimari area, said they had not got supply water of the city corporation since Tuesday.
‘We are now collecting water from tube wells as the corporation cannot provide supply water for the city dwellers,’ he added.
A retired official of Rajshahi Development Authority said he depended on supply water for drinking and doing household works.
‘Water crisis has turned so acute that it has paralysed daily life of the city dwellers, he added.
‘I waited in a long queue beside a tap for three hours on Wednesday but failed to get water,’ he said adding that he had complained to the corporation’s water department but the water crisis is yet to be eased.
Sources at the water department said the daily demand for water in the city is around about 226 lakh gallons while they can meet only 40 per cent of the requirements form the four water treatment plants.
Assistant engineer of the water department, Parvez Mahmud, said they could not operate the water treatment plants because of frequent load shedding.
The corporation’s acting chief engineer, Ashraful Haque, admitting the city’s water crisis, told New Age that the water pumps cannot lift water due to sharp fall in underground water level.
He said work on installation of five more water pumps in different areas of the city was going on and it would be completed within a month.
‘Water crisis in the city will go after completion of the installation work of the five water pumps,’ he added.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
