Editorial
Water crisis
Reduce woes with some appropriate measures
WATER supply situation in the metropolis is beginning to look serious with the advent of summer. Already we have seen angry demonstrations and blocking of roads by disgruntled residents in Mirpur area where water supply has dwindled sharply since February. Similar stories concerning shortage of water in other areas are also being reported in the media. With hot summer days ahead, when demand for water will rise further, it is likely that Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) might be in for similar demonstrations if the supply situation is not improved soon enough. Although the crisis is seasonal, we seldom plan for it.
The WASA officials at Mirpur have already explained that groundwater level has gone down in the pump area for which they cannot extract the required amount of water to meet the growing demand. With the rivers surrounding the city drying up and narrowing down because of illegal encroachment and rains still to come, there is no easy solution to groundwater scarcity. We believe, instead of going for ad hoc arrangements, the authorities concerned will have to think of more durable solutions that would make procurement and conservation of water possible.
Frequent load-shedding is a factor that affects pumping and smooth supply of water to the households and the authorities concerned will have to address this crucial issue before summer fully sets in. According to Power Development Board (PDB) the official load-shedding on Saturday was 810 megawatts (MW) and it was between 350MW and 500MW a day during November and December last year.
We would urge the authorities concerned to make water, the most essential commodity for living, available through undertaking all possible measures. They should also ensure that there is no wastage of water in the supply network through system loss while the consumers themselves exercise thrift in the use of water.
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