Bagerhat municipality’s Tk 400 million water treatment plant has been inactive for four years
Photo: Agamir Somoy
A modern surface water treatment plant was built at a cost of nearly Tk 400 million to address the shortage of safe drinking water in Bagerhat Municipality. The project was intended to treat water from the Bhairab River and supply safe water to households across the municipality. However, water supply stopped just a few months after the plant was inaugurated. Nearly four years have passed. As the facility has remained inactive for a long time, equipment worth millions of taka is deteriorating. Valuable equipment has also been stolen. Meanwhile, residents still have to wait for hours with pitchers, buckets and drums to collect drinking water.
Under the Department of Public Health Engineering, the water supply project for Bagerhat Municipality was constructed at a cost of nearly Tk 400 million during the 2020 to 2021 fiscal year. Under the project, water was collected from the Bhairab River through a pipeline stretching about four kilometers and stored at Pachandighi. The water was then treated at the modern treatment plant and supplied to different wards of the municipality through an overhead tank.
Construction of the project was completed in June 2021. Water was supplied on a trial basis for several months. The project was then handed over to Bagerhat Municipality. However, the entire operation stopped within a short period. The project has not been operational since then.
A recent visit to the project area found that the large overhead tank, pump house and water treatment plant along with other infrastructure are deteriorating after remaining unused for a long time. Various pieces of equipment have developed rust. Several valuable items including the reservoir cover, motors and fans have been stolen. Due to the lack of maintenance for a long time, the important project built with public funds is gradually becoming unusable.
The suspension of the project has caused the greatest suffering for ordinary residents of the municipal area. Every morning many people can be seen waiting for water with pitchers, buckets and drums. In some places they wait by roadsides and in others they stand in front of municipal water lines. Even after waiting for hours they often do not get water.
Residents of different areas of the municipality said water comes once every five to six days in many areas. Even then it is available only for a short period. As soon as water arrives people rush to collect it. If they cannot collect enough water, cooking, bathing and washing clothes become difficult. Even sending children to school becomes a challenge. Women, children and elderly people are suffering the most.
Pump operator Matiar Rahman Mallik said, “If the project remained operational, municipal residents would receive safe water regularly. But as it has been closed for a long time, the infrastructure and equipment are also suffering extensive damage.”
Local resident Kabir Sheikh said, “Although the project was built at a cost of nearly Tk 400 million, we are not receiving any benefit from it. We have been living with a water crisis for years. There is no certainty about when water will arrive. Sometimes water comes after five or six days and even then it is available only for a short time. When water arrives, people have to stand in line with pitchers and buckets in advance. Women suffer the most from this hardship.”
Mariam Begum, a resident of Ward 7 of the municipality, said, “The lack of water makes it difficult to cook, bathe and carry out necessary activities for children. Many times we have to collect water from far away. It is very sad that even though we live in a municipal area, we have to suffer like this for safe drinking water. We demand that the project be reopened quickly and regular water supply be ensured.”
Munna Sheikh, a resident of Ward 5, said, “If the project were operational, we would not have to collect water from far away. On one hand there is a water crisis and on the other hand equipment worth millions of taka is deteriorating while lying unused. The project needs to be reopened quickly.”
Bagerhat SUJAN President S K Hasib said, “It is necessary to conduct an impartial investigation into whether there were any flaws in the planning, why a major project could not be kept operational and why people are not receiving services even after so much public money was spent. Those responsible must be identified and action must be taken.”
Bagerhat Press Club President Sheikh Abu Saeed Shunu said, “This is not just a water crisis. It is also a question of the effectiveness and accountability of public spending. It is extremely unfortunate that a project built with taxpayers’ money has remained inactive for years. The project needs to be reopened quickly and the expected services must be ensured for the people.”
Regarding the matter, Executive Engineer of the Department of Public Health Engineering Jayanta Mallik said, “After the contractor completed the construction work, the project was handed over to Bagerhat Municipality in accordance with the rules. The municipal authority is responsible for operating the project thereafter.”
Bagerhat Municipality Administrator Mezbah Uddin said, “The matter is being considered seriously to address the water crisis. Necessary steps will be taken to reopen the project and ensure regular supplies of safe drinking water for municipal residents.”
As the nearly Tk 400 million water supply project built with public funds has remained inactive for a long time, millions of taka worth of public assets are deteriorating on one hand while thousands of municipal residents continue to suffer for safe drinking water on the other. Residents are now asking when they will finally receive the benefits of a project on which such a large amount of money was spent. They also want an immediate end to the hardship of standing in line with pitchers while waiting for water.
