Editorial
Groundwater extraction in Chittagong
The issue merits serious attention
There is little question that there is today an acute crisis over drinking water in the country. On top of that, when news comes in of residents in particular localities being put to an even worse crisis through the work of plants extracting groundwater and selling them, there is grave reason for concern. Briefly, the tubewells which the residents of Middle Halishahar in Chittagong have been wont to using for long are rapidly being rendered pointless because of the receding level of groundwater. And that, if residents' complaints are anything to go by, has happened because of the rampant manner in which three private firms have been extracting groundwater in the area over the past three years.
In an overall sense, the water crisis in this particular area has been made even more acute owing to the steady filling up of ponds with the arrival of new people. We thus have a situation where extraction of groundwater by private companies together with an increase in population has been contributing to the making of bad circumstances getting worse.
That said, there are now all the questions regarding the operations of the three private firms. Two of these firms, we have been informed, have the requisite documents to carry on with their work. The work of the third is open to question. Now, what needs to be seen is whether the two firms which supposedly have all their papers in order are extracting water at a level permissible under the regulations. Judging by the figures the firms have proffered and also through assessing the matter of how much water they actually extract, it becomes important for the authorities to ascertain the truth here.
Beyond and above all such factors, it is essential that no administrative move involved in the working of private water selling companies comes in the way of citizens' need for water. The moral aspects of the issue far outweigh any other consideration. Besides, the question of how such insensitive extraction of groundwater affects the environment also needs to be squarely addressed.
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