Dhaka WASA Managing Director Engineer Taqsem A Khan claimed that WASA water has nothing to do with the on-going diarrhea uprise.
He made the claim at a dialogue titled, 'City dwellers-Dhaka WASA capacity' organized by the Dhaka Utility Reporters Association (DURA) at the Abdus Salam Hall of the National Press Club on Tuesday.
The number of diarrhea patients in the capital has been increasing over the last few weeks. International Diarrhea Research Center, Bangladesh (icddr,b) hospital has been admitting more than a thousand
patients almost every day. In this situation, besides the increase in heat, the people of the capital have raised questions about the quality of water coming through the WASA line.
Taqsem A Khan said, “We have frequent communication with icddr,b. They gave us addresses of 10 areas whenever the incidence of diarrhea is increasing, and we immediately test the water samples collected from those areas in labs. We did not find any bacteria in the lab tests. I have immediately informed the icddr,b about the matter.”
Even if there is a germ in the water, chlorine is used to kill it or destroy it. There is no direct involvement of water contamination in this growing diarrhea situation,” he added.
The WASA MD said that water is necessary, it is an essential part of life. About 2 billion people in the world are deprived of drinking water. Bangladesh is not included in that tally. The capitals of many countries of the world have changed due to lack of water.
There are a lot of big challenges in the country including water management. The country has been able to address that challenge, albeit partially. We are in a much better position in the water index in South Asia, he added.
"Since January 2013, we have been able to produce more water than we need. Therefore, there is no shortage of water in Dhaka now. We can give water to everyone. Now the water runs for 24 hours,” he said.
In response to a question, the WASA MD said, “The amount of water that WASA produces, all goes to the customers. We have five to six percent system loss, which is negligible. However, when people see the road digging, they immediately think it is WASA line which is not true.”
“If there is any problem in the water, we test it from three places. One is our pump, the second is the problem area line, and the third is the home line,” he said.
In response to a question about the increase in water prices, he said, "We have informed everything about the increase in water prices, now the government will decide."
DURA President Ruhul Amin, General Secretary Shahed Shafiq and others were also present at the time.