The Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) does very often hit the news headlines. The reasons that attract the attention of the media towards this state-owned utility provider, in most cases, are not that palatable. Water supply shortage and supply of impure or contaminated water remain at the top of the list of consumers' allegations. The corporation also has been drawing the wrath of consumers of all types on an annual basis when it raises water tariffs unfailingly. Other state entities providing essential services such as gas and electricity also hike their tariffs but not as frequently as the DWASA.
Naturally, the consumers and the media as well keep a close watch on the developments involving the DWASA and its top notches. Thus, the terms of the contractual appointment of its top boss and his fat compensation package hardly escape the notice of the media. If not a role model for other South Asian countries, one has to admit the fact there have been improvements as far as the availability of water in Dhaka city is concerned. There was a time when the supply of water was far less than the requirement.
It is, however, to be noted here that the DWSA has failed miserably to make any progress in the city's sewage management. Dhaka's sewage network coverage reportedly, instead of improving, has deteriorated---from 30 per cent to 20 per cent in recent years. Most areas of the new Dhaka do not have any sewage network. Sewage usually ends up in the open drains and ultimately in adjacent rivers.
Another area where the corporation has to make notable progress is the quality of its piped water. Consumers of different city areas very often come up with allegations of having foul-smelling or dirty water. The city people, possibly, have not forgotten the protest march of a Jurain resident holding bottles containing dirty water to the DWASA Head Office at Karwan Bazar.
The incumbent managing director of DWASA has recently come up with an interesting statement on the quality of water his organisation makes available to homes in Dhaka city. He, on the one hand, speaking at a function, held at the national press club on Tuesday last, admitted that the tap water of his residence at Naya Paltan smelt foul and, on the other, claimed the WASA water to be harmless, meaning it to be germ-free. But in the same breath, he advised people to boil WASA water before consuming it.
The claim about the purity of water supplied by the DWASA has come when Dhaka is witnessing a record number of diarrhoea patients. The onrush of patients overwhelms the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). Diarrhoea is a water-borne disease. Though the DWASA managing director has claimed to have detected no germs in laboratory tests done on water samples collected from different parts of the city, the ICDDRB physicians have suggested close monitoring of the quality of the piped water. Health Minister Zahed Maleque has also echoed such a concern. The DWASA is now relieved of one major task---addressing water logging in Dhaka during the monsoon, as the city corporations have taken over the responsibility. It should now concentrate more on ensuring the supply of safe water and the efficient disposal of the city's sewage.
