Power, water crises in Satkhira

A long wait for safe water...Women and children queue for water in a roadside tap in Palashpole area in Satkhira town. PHOTO: STAR

All the five water pumps in the municipality remain inoperative most of the time due to frequent power outage and low voltage. The pumps remain inoperative up to 18 hours a day, sources in the municipality said seeking anonymity. At times, the town remains without power supply for the whole day, as the district gets only 2 mw power from the National Grid against a demand for 18 mw, sources said.

Daily water supply has been reduces by about 90 percent. The municipality now supplies only about one lakh litres a day against the demand for 60 lakh litres, the sources said.

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Residents in Mamalnagar, Palshpole, Radhanagar, Puratan Satkhira, Itagachha, Rasulpur, Katia, Raispur, Ghoshpara, Munjitpu and Chaltetala are the worst sufferers.

"We are compelled to take arsenic contaminated water from tube wells as we hardly get pipeline supply of water", said Abdur Razzak of Palashpole.

Municipal authorities said they can not keep the five pumps operational due load shedding and low voltage.

Because of growing public wrath, the municipal authorities sent several letters to Power Development Board (PDB) officials to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply but to no effect, they said.

Due to the crisis of safe drinking water, town dwellers in many areas are compelled to drink arsenic contaminated water collected from tube wells red-marked by the Public Health Engineering Department, residents told this correspondent.

On contact, Satkhira Pourasava Executive Engineer Selim Sarawar said, "We can supply water from the five pumps only for about two hours, from 2 am to 4 am".

On contact, Municipal Chairman Sheikh Ashraful Haque also said he urged PDB authorities to improve power supply.

PDB sources said they have nothing to do as they get only 2 mw electricity from the National Greed against a demand for 18 mw a day.