In order to protect the city dwellers from water borne diseases, the quality of water must be checked regularly and arrangements for the supply of safe water must be ensured.
The recommendations were made by speakers at a dialogue titled ‘Tackling diarrhea crisis and ensuring safe drinking water' organised by Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA) and Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK) at the Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia hall of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Monday.
They made recommendations to give more priority to the provision of free clean water to the city’s people who are lagging behind; to make people aware of the high incidence of diarrhea and cholera this year and to inform the locals about the cause of diarrhea in the area from where diarrhea patients are coming to the hospitals.
They further said that WASA and local government representatives need to quickly provide clean water in the areas with most infections; patients suffering from diarrhea and cholera should be provided free medical treatment and considering the financial situation, arrangement for financial assistance should be made.
Mihir Biswas, joint general secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), said that no bed is vacant in icddr,b at present.
“WASA is not taking the issue seriously. They are advising to boil water and claiming that nothing was found in their water in the lab. However, the existence of germs are being found in other places,” he said.
Calling on all to be more aware of moderate use of water, POBA chairman Abu Naser Khan said that low-income people pay the highest taxes to the government.
“However, they are being deprived of citizen rights. Therefore, the government needs to give more importance to the problems of low income people,” he added.
Awami Bastuhara League general secretary Layon Rashed Hawlader, urban researcher Jahangir Alam and BARCIK coordinator Ferdous Ahmed Ujjal were also present during this time, among others.
