The supply of safe drinking water has turned into a vital issue ahead of the Barisal City Corporation (BCC) election, scheduled for June 15.
The water supply crisis has crippled the lives of citizens, especially lower and middle class people, as city dwellers were getting only one third of their daily demand of 12.5m gallons, sources said.
Barisal was once a city of canals and ponds that were mostly used for domestic purposes. However, most of those water sources have been silted or filled by influential encroachers, land grabbers and developers. As a result, city dwellers are now dependent on the irregular water supply from street hydrants.
Presently, BCC has at most a water supply of 4-5m gallons, drawn from 19 old and 8 new deep tube wells, as compared to the daily demand of 12.5m, said Shafikur Rahman, executive engineer in BCC water supply department.
Incumbent mayor Shawkat Hossain Hiron said authorities have taken up projects in Beltala-Palashpur in Amanatganj area and in Rupatali area to construct two water treatment plants at estimated costs of Tk192.2m and Tk307.8m respectively.
However, construction of the Amanatganj plant is about to miss its completion deadline, while the Rupatali plant has yet to be started due to disputes over land acquisition, sources said.
The construction of two sewage-water treatment plants by the Public Health Engineering Department, which was planned in 2007, has yet to be implemented, 18-party alliance backed BCC mayoral candidate Ahsan Habib Kamal alleged.
Meanwhile, Advocate Suvash Chandra Bipro Bedanti, former district coordinator of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, expressed concern that the underground water level of the city has gone down to 800-1000ft from its 400-800ft level a decade ago.
The BCC water supply department failed to provide any confirmed figure of the number of street-hydrants or the number and lengths of water supply connections in the city.
Citizens have raised their voices ahead of the BCC election, demanding the immediate control and monitoring of ground water extractions and the quick installation of surface water treatment plants. In addition, people have also placed demands to excavate the filled canals and to preserve ponds and other water bodies for sustainable mitigation of the safe water supply crisis.