After waking up in the morning, Shamsul Kabir’s first task is to open the tap to see if water has come in. Then he looks at the tank. He calculates how much water is left. Then he decides whether to buy water today. This is how Shamsul Kabir, a resident of Abdul Hamid Road in Foy’s Lake area of Chittagong city, starts his day. Ten families live in his five-story building. He got a Chittagong WASA connection about five years ago. He also pays the bill regularly. But he claims that he has received water from the WASA line for only two days in the last three months.
Shamsul Kabir expressed his anger and said, “Water is now a golden deer in the area. There is a connection, but there is no water. They have to buy water for about 20,000 taka per month. Since they do not get water from WASA, they have to rely on private deep tube wells. Some people in the area sell water from their own tube wells. If you drive a motorbike for an hour to get water, you have to pay about 3,000 taka.”
Foy’s Lake is one of the most well-known areas of Chittagong. On one side are mountains and a lake. Here are the Chittagong Zoo, hospitals, educational institutions and various commercial establishments. The biggest crisis for many people in this important area of the city is now safe water.
Shamsul Kabir is not alone. I have spoken to 25 residents of Foy’s Lake, Khulshi and the surrounding hilly areas in the past few weeks. Almost all of them have the same complaint. There is a connection, but no water. Some get water once a week. Some don’t get it even once a month.
Foy’s Lake is one of the most well-known areas of Chittagong. On one side are mountains and a lake. Here are the Chittagong Zoo, hospitals, educational institutions and various commercial establishments. The biggest crisis for many people in this important area of the city is now safe water.
When asked, Abdul Hamid Road Plot Owners Welfare Association President Mohammad Nuruchhafa said that their association has 112 members. Almost all of them have taken WASA connections. But only a handful of 10 to 12 people get water regularly. Others have been suffering for a long time. He claimed that at least one lakh people in Foy’s Lake and the surrounding areas are suffering from water shortage. For this, written complaints have been made to WASA authorities several times. WASA engineers have also visited the area; but the problem has not been resolved.
Additional costs for water
Fakhrul Islam, a resident of Foy’s Lake area, regularly pays a WASA bill of Tk 650 every month. But he rarely sees that water. He laments, “I pay the bill for the line charge at the end of the month, but I don’t get water even for a day. Sometimes when I open the tap, only air comes out. Then I feel like I live in a city or in a remote village.”
The water crisis is not only increasing suffering, but also increasing the cost of living. Families that used to pay a few hundred taka for water are now having to spend several thousand taka more. Residents say that the monthly expenses of many families have increased several times as they have to rely on water tankers, private tube wells or alternative supplies. Each family is spending an additional two to five thousand taka per month. Multi-storey buildings are the most affected.
Once upon a time, deep tube wells were a source of hope when WASA water was not available. Now, even that trust is showing cracks. Local residents and tube well owners claim that the groundwater level has dropped significantly in the last few years. While water was available at a relatively shallow depth earlier, now even 400-foot deep tube wells in many places are not producing enough water. Experts have been saying for a long time that the water level in Chittagong is gradually dropping due to hill cutting, rapid urbanization, decreasing reservoirs and natural water retention areas, and over-reliance on groundwater. The current situation in Foy’s Lake and the surrounding areas is becoming a real example of that warning.
A project worth around Tk 4,000 crore has been taken up with the World Bank to resolve the crisis. The DPP of the project has been prepared. Preparations are also underway to invite international tenders.
Md. Maksud Alam, Chief Engineer, Chittagong WASA.
A project worth thousands of crores of taka, yet there is a cry
Chittagong WASA’s first water treatment plant project was launched in 1987. After that, no major water project was implemented for 22 years. The situation started changing after 2009. In the last 15 years, the organization has undertaken eight projects, both small and large, to increase water supply. At least 8,800 crore taka has been spent on these projects. According to WASA records, the four biggest projects are the first phase of Karnaphuli Water Supply Project at a cost of 1,848 crore taka, the Chittagong Water Supply Development and Drainage Project at a cost of 1,890 crore taka, the second phase of Karnaphuli Water Supply Project at a cost of 3,820 crore taka, and the Bhandaljuri Water Supply Project at a cost of 1,994 crore taka. All the projects have been completed. Production capacity has also increased; but in many areas like Foy’s Lake, the reality is different. There is a connection, there is a bill; but there is no water.
Why doesn’t the water reach?
Chittagong WASA Chief Engineer Md. Maksud Alam said, there is a daily demand of about 5 million liters of water in Foy’s Lake and the surrounding areas. Water is supplied to this area from the Madunaghat Water Treatment Plant. He said, it is a hilly area. There are some problems due to the altitude. Currently, 20 to 25 million liters of water are being supplied daily. Many customers in the upper part do not get water as the customers in the lower part take the water first.
Maqsud Alam said that a project worth about four thousand crore taka has been taken up with the World Bank’s funding to resolve the crisis. The DPP of the project has been prepared. Preparations are also underway to invite international tenders. The project is scheduled to be completed in December 2030. WASA hopes that if it is implemented, the water crisis in the surrounding areas including Foy’s Lake will be resolved. Engineer Selim Md. Jane Alam, who recently took over as the Managing Director of Chittagong WASA, said that necessary measures will be taken after investigating the matter.
When asked, Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Vice President SM Nazer Hossain said, the water crisis in Foy’s Lake and surrounding areas is not new. People have been making the same complaints for years. He still receives complaints about this regularly. He said, the crisis did not arise suddenly. People have been suffering for a long time; but WASA could not take effective steps in time. If the problem had been identified in a planned manner and initiatives had been taken to solve it, so many people would not have had to buy and use water today.
