Editorial
Dhaka's deepening water crisis
Something must be done and fast
Along with electricity, now the capital's residents are also facing acute water crisis, that too, even before summer is here in full swing. In fact, some residents of the capital, such as those living in posh areas of the city even, have been going virtually without water for over a month. They are having to buy water for drinking, cooking and washing, resulting in a hike in their regular expenses. Their sufferings are endless, living in an unhygienic environment with unclean toilets, etc.
Wasa, however, is claiming that the water crisis this year is less severe compared to previous years and that advance measures have been taken to improve the water supply and that the results will be felt in the summer. Our question, however, is that if the situation is already this bad, how will it get any better in the summer? Moreover, why has something more constructive not been done over the last two months as soon as the crisis began? Finally, why do we always wait for crisis to strike before taking action? If Wasa has in fact taken any pre-emptive measures to tackle the situation, why is it not being able to do so now?
Most importantly, we put a question to the government and relevant authorities why are we not being able to provide our citizens with the most basic of needs for survival? While we get carried away in high-sounding political debates, our citizens are deprived of their most basic rights, helpless in the hands of a dysfunctional or at the least inefficient system. It is truly time that the authorities pull up their socks and take into consideration the needs and indeed, basic rights, of the people and do their utmost to fulfill them and with positive results.
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