The High Court on Tuesday directed the concerned authorities to form a five-member committee to test water supplied by Dhaka Water Supply & Sewerage Authority (DWASA) through pipeline.
The two-member bench of Justice JBM Hasan and Justice Khairul Alam passed the order after hearing a writ petition attached with a report on presence of bacteria in WASA water.
The court also asked to submit the report within next two months.
The HC directed to include delegation from Local Government Department, icddr,b, Bureau of Research Testing and Consultation (BRPDC), Dhaka University’s Pharmacy department and Microbiological Science department.
Besides, the court also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned why their negligence and inaction in supplying water would not be declared illegal.
Secretaries to the Local Government Ministry, Health Ministry, director general of Directorate of Health, managing director of WASA and four others have been made respondents to the rule, according to UNB news agency.
Supreme Court Lawyer Md Tanvir Ahmed, who filed the writ on October 14, said the World Bank published a report on the presence of bacteria in WASA water.
A World Bank report released on October 11 revealed that E. coli bacteria was present in 80 per cent of private piped-water taps sampled across the country. The same rate exists in water retrieved from ponds too.